Bittersweet
by NyanWolf
Summary: While camping in the berg, Newt is taken by WICKED. He is locked up and given strange injections everyday. With his memories beginning to resurface and the Flare tearing him apart, will the others find him in time? Could his terrifying memories of Thomas break their bond forever? And, does Newt even want to be found?
1. They Came From WICKED

**Hello guys! I'm NyanWolf and this is my first TMR fanfic! I appreciate criticism and gladly take plot suggestions and ideas! So please review!**

 **Story Info:**

 **This is set in the Death Cure, but I'll be ignoring page 250. This is slightly AU because Newt never goes to the crank palace. The POV will switch every now and then to Minho and Thomas.**

* * *

They came from WICKED. I was in the Berg, waiting for teammates who might already be dead. Trying not to itch at the tickle in my brain. Trying so hard not to break. But it was growing. Growing and spreading in my head.

I was trying not to cry.

Liquid was just beginning to swell from my eyes when the door opened. I looked up to see my friends. Jorge, Brenda, Minho, and Tommy. I smiled widely, running to Tommy and hugging him. But when I made contact he seemed to grow much wider and taller. His skin turned to a heavy green uniform. And his smiling face turned into a gasmask.

This wasn't Tommy.

And these weren't my friends.

I stumbled back, blinking. Had I imagined it all? The man I'd hugged looked at the other men and they nodded to each other.

"Who...?" I trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.

"We're taking you back, Newt. We still have a few variables left," The man said gruffly. He drew a gun from his belt and his buddies followed suit. I froze. They were going to take me away. And the others would have no idea. They would think I ran away. They would think I was a coward.

Without thinking I turned and dived into the Berg's control room. A bang sound racked my brain. I didn't look back, pressing myself into a crawlspace under the control panel. Immediately, I tore a piece of fabric from my white shirt-sleeve and fumbled with a pen from my pocket, part of a collection of forgotten things I'd started when I was left there. Even as a fist crashed into the control panel above me, sending sparks and hot embers raining down on me, I started formulating my note.

I was just starting to write when gloved hands grabbed my hair and dragged me out. I screamed as my scalp caught fire. Something hard slammed into my skull. Searing white light flashed across my vision. The same hard thing, which must have been the gun, was launched into my nose. A horrible cracking filled my ears. Copper dripped into my mouth.

I swallowed it, ignoring the fact that it tasted good. I squinted to see past the colored dots in my eyes and tried to write with my shaky hands. I only got one word down before the note slipped through my fingers and I was being carried away, out of the Berg.

 _Wicked._

* * *

I woke up with no memory of going to sleep. Had I been knocked out? All I knew was that I was in a white padded room with no windows or furniture or door. Panic fluttered in my chest. I was about to start screaming when a section of the wall opened. I sighed, there was a door. A large, human-sized vulture waddled into the room.

I stared. Its plumage was white but its eyes were red and bloody. It spoke.

"Time for your treatment Newt. If this works, everything will change." It came closer. I fell on my butt, scrabbling to get away from the bird creature. A small syringe was clasped tightly in its wing, filled with sloshing yellow liquid. It looked like vomit. Without meaning to, I whimpered.

The vulture shook its head impatiently. Then it lunged at me with the needle. I dodged, kicking out my leg to knock it out of its wing. The vulture screeched, picking up the fallen injection. Then it came at me again, practically sitting on my lap to prevent me moving. I squirmed, tears welling up for no reason. And then I bit it. I bit into wings that tasted like skin and locked my jaws. More blood burbled into my mouth.

It was sugary and sweet, but wrong tasting too. The vulture shook me off and screeched again. It slapped me, leaving a red welt in my cheek. I was screaming profanities now, although half of it was a slurred mess.

"Stop wriggling you stupid boy! Either the flare has already eaten your brain or your more of an idiot than I thought! This could save the world! Don't you see?" The vulture yelled. But I didn't understand. I couldn't comprehend what the words meant. The needle pricked my vein and was plunged deep. I shrieked like I was possessed, but then my muscles grew heavy and I was hit with pain so thick I almost threw up on the bird.

But now I saw it was no longer a bird. It was a tall blond woman with white doctor clothes. I curled in on myself, shivering. The bird-lady smiled. I felt sick. My chest was collapsing. I couldn't breath. Blood gurgled from someplace in my throat and I let it sit inside my mouth. Swirling it around my teeth. The pain was a wall around my body. I managed to glimpse the lady's nametag before I blacked out.

Ava Paige.

* * *

 **Please tell me how I did! The next chapter will be out this week.**

 **Fun Fact #1: The Scorch Trials movie is Wes Ball's AU fanfic, just like mine!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	2. The Testing Room

**Hey guys! So, this chapter is a lot longer, and I introduced an old character!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Taylormh98: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! Here's the new chapter, enjoy!**

* * *

When I next woke up, I was still in the room, but my clothes were new and clean. I ran a hand through my hair and groaned. I scratched myself and stretched my aching limbs.

"Aren't you pretty," A voice made me jump. I whirled around and saw a little girl, staring at me. She had short-cropped blond hair and light brown eyes. I shook my head and wiped my eyes, making sure I wasn't imagining things again.

"Who are you?"

"That doesn't matter. I'm just glad you woke up, we're leaving soon," She said. I looked at her oddly.

"What the klunk is that supposed to mean?" I grumbled.

"They're taking us to the testing room."

"Who is?" She looked at me like I was sorriest idiot ever.

"WICKED," She said. Just as she said that, the door opened again and two men walked in. They grabbed me by my shoulder blades and hauled me up. I almost collapsed but they kept hold of me, squeezing my skin. I didn't fight them. I was done fighting. But I did notice that the girl walked beside them, unrestrained. We walked through several identical hallways.

I was beginning to get bored when we came to a huge metal door. The guards swiped an ID card in the door handle and it clicked, sliding into the ceiling. I gasped at the room within. It looked like a massive hangar, and it was filled with millions of gadgets and tubes and machines and wires.

I heard the screams first though, before I even acknowledged the people I heard the screams. A girl my age was going wild. Her toothless mouth was stained red and her back was arched backwards scarily. Her face was covered in bleeding scabs and purple bruises, oozing with yellow liquid.

All at once, I wanted to gag and yet keep watching. A few guards were trying to contain her, but she kept biting and scratching them until their skin was pulled into her fingernails. The guards holding me shoved me to the ground and rushed the girl.

I ran too, although I had no idea what I was doing. The younger girl from before stuck out her leg and I crashed to the ground again. A sharp pain shot up my knee. I glared.

"What are you doing!" I yelled. She shook her head.

"Stay out of it. She's obviously past the Gone."

"So? I'm probably half way there myself!" I argued. The screams started fading and I looked to see the crank girl being carried away into a small door. She was unconscious and I could see blood dripping from her temple. A stab of pity filled my heart. Would that be me?

It was then that I noticed the group of people in the room. A few of them looked normal and stood around chatting. Then there were some that would twitch and spasm every few seconds. And the final group, the cranks almost fully gone. Their hair was ripped out and they were eying everyone else in a predatory glare.

I shuddered, turning back to the young girl.

"What is this place?"

"I told you, this is the testing room. But right now we're in intermission."

"What's your name?" I asked, not able to focus on one topic for long.

"Little One."

"That's not a name."

"No, but you can call me that if you want," Little One said. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly, a bell rang, and I was being dragged into yet another room. Little One waved. I scowled. I was put into a room with another guy.

"Newt! We've been looking for you everywhere, you shank!" Frypan, for that's who he was, hugged me. My eyes widened.

"Frypan? I didn't know you were...I thought you were..." I tried.

"Immune?" Frypan chuckled. "Yeah. I guess you didn't catch that," He smiled sadly. I looked at my feet.

"How long have you been here? What is this place?" I asked.

"WICKED took me a week ago. They're recapturing all the cranks. This is the testing room. They put us here twice a week and give us all sorts of weird shots. Things might start getting weird in a second."

Suddenly, a slot shot from the wall filled with tubes. Frypan grabbed one and offered it to me.

"Oh no. No bloody way."

"Just take it shank. It's better not to fight them," A sad look washed over his face. I grabbed the tube from him and a syringe, pouring the tube's contents. He did the same.

"Cool, now we just put a little bit of this in our system and wait about five minutes. Then we move on to the next ones until we finish. Got it?" Frypan asked. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Is it even safe?" I yelled.

"Hasn't killed me yet," He grinned, the sadness forgotten. Then he plunged the needle into his arm and motioned for me to follow suit. After hesitating a second, I shoved it in my vein as well. I winced in pain.

"Great. Shucking great." I moaned. Frypan smiled weakly.

"So, how's Minho and Thomas? Theresa has had all of us on a mad frenzy to find you all."

"Actually I'm not sure. I wasn't allowed to go into Denver with them. They freaking left me in the Berg by myself," I muttered. Fry nodded.

"Same," His eyes lit up. "Hey! That's where we were! Maybe they'll find each other and laugh at the fact we're gone!" He grinned. I laughed. My mind was beginning to fog up. And my heart was blackening.

"I hate them," I said.

"Me too."

"Maybe they will find us. And then we can eat their toeses," I whispered drunkenly. We giggled.

"I want them to die Newt. What have those Munies ever done for us? And Thomas, he took us from the only home we ever knew!" Fry screamed, banging his hand on the wall. I nodded eagerly.

"Should have banished all of them when we had the bloody chance!" I shrieked. I jumped up and started banging the walls too.

"Not even the shucking grievers deserve those idiots! Minho would probably sass them to death!"

We threw back our heads and howled. A mist erupted into the room. We choked on it, but still we laughed. And when I was gone, my body was still full of rage and pain and madness. But our heads were at least clear enough to pick up the next shot, and pump it into our arms.

* * *

 **So there you go! Don't worry, I won't go through every single shot, that would take ages! But you guys can request what emotions or effects you want these shots to have.**

 **Fun Fact#2: Dylan O'Brien almost didn't make the Maze Runner cast because his hair was too flashy.**

 **Wolf out...**


	3. Memory Lane

**Wow, I have never updated any of my stories so quickly! Thanks to any and everyone who is reading my story for motivating me!**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: Glad you like it! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **GaLe4ever: Thanks! Here's your update! And Newt is my favorite character as well. I can't make promises about the mad thing, but he at least he won't die.**

* * *

Anger, joy, sadness, pain, jealousy. Fry and I went through twenty different emotions in ten minutes. I was broken by the time I was put back in my room, alone. My body craved sleep, but my eyes wouldn't close.

How could anyone do this for a week? I tried to remember what I had said in my moments of delirium. Everything was a fuzzy blur. I curled up on the floor and trembled. My leg was hurting more than usual. I rubbed it in slow circles as my mind finally succumbed to sleep.

 _I'm in a bedroom with blue walls. I'm pretending to sleep, but I'm really listening to the voices coming from beyond my room. A female and a male._

 _"You can't send me away Henry."_

 _"You know I don't want to. But we can't risk you doing anything to the kids."_

 _"How do you know they're immune? Huh? They could be just like me!"_

 _"Maybe, but I had them tested last week. They haven't contracted it yet, and you're just another exposure."_

 _"Shut up! Shut up! I am their mother! I would never EVER do anything to them! I am not just some crank Henry! I love them! I LOVE THEM!"_

 _"We both do, but-"_

 _"NO! Shut up! You want them all to yourself! You want to get rid of me! I would sooner KILL you than touch a single hair on their heads! I am not crazy!"_

 _I hear sobs now, escaping through the paper-thin walls. I'm only seven, I don't deserve this. I don't want mommy to leave. I hate daddy for telling her to. Mommy is fine. She's not sick like Mrs. Chanceler next door. Or my teacher Mr. Dupias. Mommy is healthy. I love her._

 _I love her._

I woke up with a start. Everything spun and swirled together as I lurched up, clutching at my stomach. I dry heaved, pain searing my parched throat. Where was I? What was happening?

Where was mommy?

I sucked in air, panting and crying and heaving. My sides cramped up. Shaky and sweaty and weak, I let myself collapse to the floor. There I lay for what seemed like an hour. It was a memory. The notion came to me as I lay still. I had had a mother. I had had parents who loved me. I smiled sadly, trying to imagine them.

It was a game I liked to play often in the Glade. Back when we were all Greenies. The originals. I would sit beneath a tree and try to imagine my family. A tall, lanky woman with golden curls and warm brown eyes. And a laid-back man with hair the color of dead leaves and eyes the color of the sky.

There, under the tree, we would play together. The woman would laugh as the man raced me to the end of the forest. We would watch the clouds together and my mom always had the best imagination. Then, when it was over, they would hug me and kiss my forehead and tell me how special I was. Tell me how much they loved me. Tell me that they were waiting for me, just on the other side of the maze.

That was why I became a runner. I was so sure that behind every corner, a face that looked like mine would smile and embrace me and say "Surprise!"

I smiled through my tears, hugging myself. The white room was dark and I felt comfort at the fact that no one could see me. I felt saner than I had in so long. The pain in my brain was receding and I laughed.

It felt so good to laugh and laugh and be genuine about it. Not caused by some bloody experiments. I rocked back and forth, gently humming a random tune. I asked myself if I was happy. And I was.

In that singular moment of undisturbed nostalgia, I was happy. I decided to remember. I had built a wall as high as the maze's inside my mind, trying to protect myself from my old friends. But who would know if I cried now?

I didn't have to be strong anymore. I was alone. No one to lead or comfort or encourage. No more pressure. I grinned in the darkness and thought of my friends. Alby, Chuck, Ben, Winston. Everyone.

Alby had been both my best friend and my father. He was the glue before I was. He helped me out whenever he could and always had something nice to say, even when my own depressed thoughts annoyed him to death. If the shank was here now, he'd probably tell me that Minho and Thomas would be here within minutes and that we just needed to stay calm.

But I knew they wouldn't be here, so I snickered at my imaginary friend and teased him for his wrongness.

Then there was Chuck, he was all of the Gladers' baby brother when he arrived. He had a big heart and I knew he secretly dreamed of his parents, like I used to do. He was so innocent. No matter who we banished or who got murdered or stung or whatever, he would always share a little snip of his imagination to make us feel sane.

"Don't worry, he's probably watching us right now, from the sky, happy he doesn't have to eat any more of Frypan's cooking," That's what he'd say. Little things like that. And it made all the difference.

I never knew Ben and Winston too personally. But I considered them family all the same. Ben was a runner, like I was. And Winston was a pessimistic creep who liked blood a little too much. But I admired that he wasn't bothered by it. Without him we would have all been bloody vegetarians.

My grin split my cracked face. I did have memories. And I would make them last as long as I could. With my resolve in mind, I lay back down to sleep again, just as the door to my room burst open.

"EYES! Give my your EYES!"

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 **I am really proud of this chapter, so please review and thanks for reading! Anyone want to speculate about the ending?**

 **Fun Fact#3: Blake Cooper (Chuck) Twitter-stalked Wes Ball until he got an audition.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	4. Who's A Runner

**Hello my lovelies! Thank you for your awesome reviews and I promise (kind of) that next chapter will have some Thomas and Minho.**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: Thank you!**

 **Taylormh98: Thanks! I try to update as close to daily as I can! I'm glad you like the fun facts, I have a lot of fun writing them!**

* * *

It was her. The crank girl from before. But now the vacant holes where her eyes had been were black and bloody and bruised. Scratches covered the upper half of her face. I stifled a breath and choked on saliva.

"Where are your eyes? GIVE ME YOUR EYES!" She screamed, hunched in the doorway like a monster. I scrambled backwards on my butt until I hit the opposite wall. I held my breath, more quiet than I had ever been before. Her head swiveled hideously, searching for me.

It's amazing how much you can notice when your about to die. For example, I noticed that she was wearing a collar. She moved forward, stopped, and screamed. Her back twisted. She was being shocked. But then she was moving again. Every few steps she got shocked, but she was getting closer. The smell hit me and I almost gagged.

Blood, gore, and the inside of veins. I smelled the carnage as clearly as I saw it. I was scared. I was terrified because I knew she would rip out my eyes and leave me alive to die slowly.

She was close now. Her hot breath wafted into my face. I put up my hands, trembling. Suddenly, her body went rigid. A smile slowly spread across her face. She had found me. And she knew it.

I shook uncontrollably. I would like to say my life flashed before my eyes, but it didn't. There was too much going on for that. The blood in my ears orchestrated a symphony of frantic heart beats, ragged breaths, and horrible, anxious silence. I felt sick with it. The heat in my face made me dizzy as a single, cracked fingernail pressed into my eyelid. It was sharp, and it curved into the space between my eyelid and my eye. She giggled softly.

I whimpered. It hurt now. She was literally digging into my eye. I took a breath, braced myself, and kicked out both legs to connect with her jaw. Her head snapped back and she sprawled on the floor. Her howl burst my ears. Everything went in and out of silence. I stumbled to my feet, and ran. I ran faster than I ever had even before my limp.

The was a siren calling through the building. I sprinted on.

"EYES! GIVE ME BACK MY EYES!" Her screams were broken by sobs and laughter. I tripped over my own klunky feet. My chin hit the metal. Blood splattered. I pushed up and continued running. I searched wildly. There!

A door was slightly open. With my last breath, I sped up and burst into the room. I slid and twisted around to slam the door shut. I pressed my back against it and heard it click. The crank girl's screams muffled. Her fists pounded on the door.

My whole body shook. A flutter in my chest rattled around my ribcage. I relaxed my body. And I laughed. It was an empty, crazed sound. For a moment I wondered if I was even capable of uttering such a high pitched noise. Slowly, I slid to the floor.

It was then that I looked around. I was in a small room with a twin size bed with fluffy pink sheets. There was a white desk and matching side table. There were no windows though, nor carpets. It looked as if someone had just shoved a bedroom set into a storage closet.

I stared for a while. Then slowly, I crept up to the bed. I couldn't bloody remember the last time I'd seen anything pink. Well, other than sunburnt skin. I placed a hand on the fabric and a shiver of pleasure ran up my spine. It was so soft.

Suddenly, I was tired. The adrenaline in my body melted, leaving me shaky and breathless and weak. I hauled myself into the bed, barely aware that there was still blood running down my chin. A smile crept onto my face.

Only for a minute, I thought. I won't fall asleep. I'll just rest...

 _I am running through a street. School was so boring. They talked for hours about nothing at all. But now it is over and I can play. I spin in circles under the red sky. They say to keep indoors. They say to cover up. I asked my teacher why today, she said there is something going around, but that I shouldn't worry. I guess it isn't that serious then._

 _I want to talk to someone, so I run over to Marcus' house. He is bigger and older than me, but we're best friends. I ring his doorbell and he is there, grinning at me. He has dark skin and no hair. Not a lot of people have hair these days. It's too hot._

 _"Hey," I say._

 _"Hey."_

 _"Can you come out?"_

 _"Sure. My parents aren't home," He steps out and we start walking together._

 _"How was school?" He asks me. Ever since the sickness, more and more parents have been taking their children out of school. Daddy says I'll leave too, next week._

 _"Well enough," I say._

 _We sit in a crawlspace under an old porch. No one lives in the house anymore. It's our secret meeting place._ _"Is Cade back yet?" I ask. Cade is Marcus' older brother. He left a month ago to join some kind of organization. He said he would save the world. He was supposed to be back a week ago. Marcus' face changes._

 _"Shut up! Don't talk about Cade! He's fine! He'll be fine!" He suddenly screams at me. I jump and hit my head on the bottom of the porch._

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"_

 _"NO! You never mean anything! Well sometimes you have to wake up and take a hint! You're not my friend!" He screams. And now he is crying and holding his head._

 _"Marcus?" I whisper._

 _"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

 _"It's okay, don't worry," I say._

 _"Go away. I don't want to kill you."_

 _I am shocked. Why is he saying these things?_

 _"What are you talking about?" I ask him._

 _"My parents think I'll kill them. Or myself. Or somebody. I heard them talking through the wall. Go away. I don't want to kill you," He sobs. I remember now, what I heard through my own walls. So I reach into my pocket and find a candy wrapper. It is very shiny, and I am sad to part with it, but I place it in his hand anyway. He cries some more and I leave._

 _I slowly, slowly walk home. Like a snail. Everything is greyer now. I know I won't see him again. I just know it. I find my house and walk inside. My sister is crying in her crib. I walk to it and pick her up. Daddy walks in from the kitchen and he looks like he has been crying too. He looks at me and says words that almost make me drop Rose._

 _"I had to do it. I killed her. Mommy is gone."_

* * *

 **So like I said, Thomas and Minho will be next chapter. Tell me what you think!**

 **Fun Fact#4: Wes Ball's kids (who love tmr) helped look at the auditions and helped cast the movie.**

 **Wolf out...**


	5. High Pitched Voices and Buzzing Noises

**Hi hi! As promised, this chapter includes Minho and Thomas, but still plenty of Newt. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Thanks a load! Here is the next chapter! Hope you like it!**

 **catnip851: Thanks! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **Bteam: I'm so happy you love it! Thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

 **Thomas**

We got to the Berg as fast as we could. The door was crumpled and busted. We stared.

"Newt?" Minho called out, marching into the aircraft. I forced myself to follow. His note was hot in my pocket. My leg was burning with it. I almost opened it then, but I didn't. Minho yelled for me to come.

I ran to him. Minho was crouched under the shattered control panel. Wires crackled around him precariously.

"What is it?" I dropped down next to him. Minho was silent. Then he turned and shoved a piece of paper into my chest. I tipped backwards, caught my balance, and read the note.

WICKED.

Slowly, I looked up at Minho. His face was red and he looked murderous.

"This doesn't mean anythi-" I started.

"Yes it does! They did it again! They shucking came and stole Newt! Don't you see shank? We'll never be free!" Minho growled, throwing a fist into the ground. He instantly drew his hand back and cradled it. He winced.

My mind raced. Minho could be right. But it could also be an old piece of paper that Newt was writing on before. But why would he write WICKED? What did it mean? I rubbed my temple.

"Okay, so let's say your right-"

"I am right slinthead! And that means that WICKED knows exactly where we are."

I thought. There was one thing that didn't add up.

"Why Newt though," I asked. Minho looked at me like I was crazy.

"What?"

"If they know where we are, then why take Newt only? They have no reason. As much as I hate it, Newt is crank. He has no use to them, and would probably spread the virus," I reasoned. Minho took a breath.

"Maybe he does have a use," Jorge walked into the control room, followed by Brenda.

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, if they're testing on munies, why not test on cranks too. Isn't that the whole point? To have control variables?" Brenda said. I shook my head. None of this made any scrap of shucking sense.

"But why? All anyone's been telling me is that WICKED needs immunes. Especially me, for whatever reason. So if they know exactly where I am, then why take Newt?" I practically screamed.

"It's not all about you hermano," Jorge said. Minho had been quiet for a long time.

"Can you just shut up? All of you!" He stood up. "You shanks are here arguing over nothing! It doesn't matter why they took him. All I know is that we are going to get him back!" Minho thundered.

We looked down.

"Jorge," Minho continued, "Can the Berg still fly?"

"De ninguna manera. No way," Jorge said. Minho exhaled loudly.

"Great. And I guess we can't just walk there either?"

"Sure, if you're fine with making Newt wait about four weeks," Brenda smirked. I shook my head again. Already there was a hole in me where my friend used to be. We'll save you Newt, I thought, no matter what.

"Well this is shucking fantastic. And I was starting to worry that something might be easy for once, good job that didn't happen!" Minho sneered. I interrupted.

"Look, maybe we can fix the Berg," I said. Jorge shook his head.

"We'd need a boat-load of parts hermano," He said. "And I don't know where we can find them."

My heart sank. If only we hadn't left him here alone. If only one of us had stayed with him. If I had stayed I would be with him right now. I wanted to hit my head on the wall. Because of us, Newt could be being tortured or worse. I only hoped he knew we were coming.

* * *

 **Newt**

"Hey! Hey! Get up!"

I tossed and turned.

"Get up!"

A moan escaped my lips. My eyes opened and I looked around blearily. A face hovered just over mine. I yelped and shot up. It was the little girl. Little One.

"What the klunk are you doing?" I yelled.

"Me? What are _you_ doing?" She screamed. "This is my bedroom!"

I stared at her, my mind wasn't quite awake yet. Then it clicked.

"Oh. Wait, why do you get a proper bedroom when I have a bloody jail cell?" I yelled. She hesitated.

"Just because," Little One said. I rolled my eyes before remembering that I was still in her bed. I quickly scrambled to my feet.

"There was a crank outside earlier..." I trailed off.

"I know. Those idiots in the vault let her escape. They caught her an hour ago, while you were over here pretending to be sleeping beauty," She huffed.

"What's the vault?" I asked.

"What?"

"You said the vault. What is it?" I pressed. There was an itch in my brain. I hadn't felt it in a long time. But now it was back and I wanted to scratch at it.

"No I didn't. That girl isn't the only crank in this building you know. You're hearing things."

"Shuck-face I heard you say vault!"

"Look, maybe you should lay back down. I can go find the medics to sedate you. Rumor has it they have a few barrels of Bliss in a storage room somewhere," Her tone was patronizing.

"What are you then? Do you work here? Is that why you won't tell me what the bloody shucking vault is? Because the way I see it, you're almost two feet shorter than I am and I'm guessing a lot less strong!" I heard myself growl, but I wasn't in control anymore. And the thing was, I liked it. No more decisions, just let the things in my brain do all the work.

"Was that a threat?"

"No shank, it was a warning. I bet your flesh would make a good wallpaper," I giggled. The itch in my head was growing to a crescendo. My body stumbled forward. I realized I was slightly hunched over, and panting. Little One was scared now. I could see it all over her face. I smiled sickly. Sweat poured down my face. The itch exploded in my mouth, in my nose, in my eyes. It was all over my head.

I drunkenly stepped closer. When did it get so hard to balance? Little One faced me. She didn't step back or put her hands up. She just stood with an infantile expression of horror.

 _I am in a basement._

I looked around as my surroundings warped and twisted into a dusty basement full of boxes and cobwebs. I shook my head frantically and Little One's bedroom was back. She now looked confused as well as terrified. I came closer.

 _Mommy is singing to herself._

I saw a woman flash in my vision, curled up in a ball. She was scarred and bleeding. She was singing and laughing at the same time. I roared, shaking the images from my mind. I waited for everything to clear. Little One stared at me.

 _Rose passes me on the stairs. She wants to see Mommy._

My chest felt tight suddenly. I couldn't focus long enough on Little One before the hallucinations got through. I am not in a basement, I thought. There is no one here but me and Little One. My ears buzzed. Dizziness swam in my eyes. I realized somewhere in the back of my mind that I was swaying, about to fall.

 _I am scared. Daddy doesn't know that we know Mommy isn't dead. He doesn't know we stole Mommy. He doesn't know she lives in the basement._

I stumbled backwards. My chest heaved. My lungs couldn't get enough air. I was being crushed by nothing. Everything ran together. Was Little One singing? Was I about to kill Mommy? Where was Daddy? Why were we in a bedroom? Where was the basement?

 _Mommy is screaming at Rose to sing with her. Rose doesn't know the words. Why is Mommy screaming?_

I was crying. I didn't know why I was crying. But I was. I reared back and almost fell backwards. I couldn't see Little One anymore. I turned around and started running to the door. I burst into the hallway. The delirium was fading. The itch was subsiding. The pressure in my brain lifted. I could breath and see and hear again.

I ran far and fast. I didn't know where my room was.

"Hey! Kid!" A guard shouted. His buddy groaned.

"Not again!" They both pointed their weapons. A burst of electricity shot into my back. I sighed in relief as the pain brought me down. I didn't have to run anymore. These nice people would take me to my room probably. They would carry me and bring me back so that I wouldn't have to be scared anymore. I liked it here.

 _Mommy keeps screaming. Rose doesn't move. I tell her to run back. But she stands still. Her lips move. She is singing for Mommy. Mommy shrieks, "wrong note!" And she hits Rose. She hits her face four times. Rose is crying. Her nose is bleeding. But she keeps singing for Mommy. The right note this time. She keeps singing with those huge, terrified eyes._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please review!**

 **Fun Fact#5: The Glader slang was not part of the original first draft of the Maze Runner.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	6. The Vault

**Thank you guys so much for the awesome reviews! You guys are lovely!**

 **Reviews:**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Hi! It's always super cool to see people that I know from the USM fandom, in my other fandoms. But yeah, James Dashner said in a Q &A that he didn't have the Glader slang originally. Apparently a friend suggested adding some flavor to the boys' language. I love that moment when someone uses their slang in public! It's literally the best thing! Thanks for the compliment! I hope you like the chapter!**

 **catnip851: Thanks! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Thank you!**

 **DarkGuardianAngel22456: Thank you! I hope you like the chapter!**

* * *

I woke up in a dirty, metal cage. It was dark and the air stank of rot. This couldn't be happening. Where was my room? I scrambled to get up. Something hard and sharp shoved itself into my throat. I gagged. My hands went to my neck. There was a circular metal...collar? I turned around, it was attached to a long chain that was embedded into the wall.

My heart raced.

"Hey!" I screamed. "Hey!"

There was a long silence.

"Hey back."

It was a gurgled, deep voice. But I couldn't make out the gender.

"Where the klunk am I?" I yelled.

"In the vault," It seemed to chuckle. My mind spun. No way. No bloody way.

"Why?"

"You are past the gone, like us!" It giggled. The voice was feminine. "That means you're too dangerous to keep up there!"

"What are you on about?" I wasn't past anything yet! I was still sane, wasn't I? I was still me. Newt. I am Newt. I repeated it in my mind like a mantra. I am Newt. I am Newt.

"Guards say you tried to kill Rose," The voice laughed. I froze.

"Who?"

"Rose! Like the pretty pretty flower! Sweet and soft and the color of blood!"

I stared at nothing. Rose? I told my mind it was stupid. It couldn't be the same girl from my memories. But now that I thought about it, they did look slightly similar.

"That's not her name!" I screamed suddenly. "You're lying!"

"Fine. If you say so. We'll shut up."

"We? Who else is with you?" I fought to keep my voice low. A headache was forming just behind my eyes.

"My eyes and I! We'll stop talking so you can die all alone! You're too late. The white old hag promised us first! You're too late! We get all of it! All for us!" It was the girl from before. Joy.

I couldn't seem to avoid her. But I had to get answers, and there didn't seem to be anybody else here.

"Promised you what?" I said gently.

There was no answer. I was about to try again when light shone into the darkness. A door was being opened. A man in a doctor's uniform walked into the narrow hallway. He stopped at my cell. Peered into the glass at me.

"Ah, Newt. I have to say, we expected you to have more time," He sneered.

"I'm not past the bloody gone," I muttered.

"Yes well, that's what any crank like you would say. Anyway, I'm not here for discussion. Time for a shot kid. You're not afraid of needles, are you?" The man grinned. An inhuman wail erupted from the cell next to mine.

"NO!" The girl screamed. "NO! She promised us! She promised us!"

The man winced.

"Hmm, yes. She did didn't she? Well it seems you were a matter of circumstance. The only full gone crank. The only specimen. But now we have a much more important test subject. He was one of the top three nominees in the trials. You were just another kid in your group."

"No! Please! You can't do this! Get her! Bring her! She'll tell you! The white hag will tell you she promised us!" The girl was sobbing. I listened to it with annoyance. Nothing else. No emotion. I just wanted to tell her to suck it up.

I was numb.

The man opened my cell. I stayed still. Until he pulled out a massive needle. I squirmed back. The man rolled his eyes. He seemed bored.

"What is that?" I said. My headache was throbbing, pulsing now.

"This, Newt, is the key. Or at least, a prototype. We have taken results from the testing room, and made this."

"Yeah? Well what does it bloody do?" I snarled. He was cleaning the needle tip.

"Theoretically, it should freeze the kill zone, trapping the Flare. But, we don't quite know what the side affects of that would be. But since you hit the gone so quickly, we'll have to test it blindly," The man sighed.

Blindly! On me! I pressed my back into the wall. What this man was on about sounded almost like a cure. But it also sounded like one of those commercials for skin products with a million side affects. I could die! Or worse!

But the man didn't care. No one cared. I suddenly found myself missing Tommy and Minho for the fist time. The man smiled.

"Not going to lie son, this is going to hurt a lot," The man stabbed the needle into my neck, just above the collar. I screamed. The man chuckled and walked out. He closed my cell. The door to the hallway closed. Darkness fell.

For about five seconds, I felt numb and relaxed. Then my head exploded into a tsunami of memories. A scream tore through my body. Pain slammed into me from all sides. I couldn't handle it all.

I remembered everything. All at once. Simultaneously I could see everything that had ever happened to me. It hurt. I scratched at my head. I pulled out my own hair. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt. I couldn't deal.

I pressed on my ears, trying to shut out the noise. What was that blasted noise? Then I realized it was me. Screaming uncontrollably. I couldn't pull anymore oxygen into my lungs. I was too busy expelling air. But I couldn't stop. I couldn't stop screaming. I couldn't stop screaming. As everything went dark I had one fleeting thought.

Minho, Tommy, please. Save me. Please Minho, please. Please Tommy, please.

* * *

 **I'm just going to say that I love writing this for you guys! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

 **Fun Fact#6: Thomas Brodie Sangster put rocks in his shoe so he would remember to limp and do it realistically. (But did you guys see his limp? 'Cause it was really hard to spot.)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	7. The Boy Who Jumped Into Blood

**Hi! I am really excited about this chapter and I hope you guys like it!**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: Thanks, if you thought that was intense you're going to love this chapter!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Really? In both movies? That's awesome if you did! I only saw it a little bit in the second movie only. Thanks for commenting on my fun facts, that's makes me want to make them more and more interesting! I'm glad you liked the tie-in! Newt probably won't die. Probably. But if he does I'll try my best to one-up James Dashner!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Aw! I'm glad I was able to get some kind of reaction, although this chapter might be even more intense!**

* * *

The man came everyday. I would wake up in my cell next to a small plate of stale bread and dry meat. There was no water. There was never any water. I asked the man once, why there wasn't water.

"Fluids interfere with the prototypes."

I never ate. I couldn't keep it down. I would push the nauseating plate away and rock back and forth in the near total darkness. He always came after 10,000 seconds. Always, like clockwork. Then he would brag about his newest prototype. And he would stab me.

It was always worse than the last time. I would wake up and my memories would be gone or fading. But the next shot always brought them back. I was scared of them. They haunted my mind. The worst thing was that they didn't seem to have an order.

I faintly remembered having my fourteenth birthday, but it seemed like it was seven years ago. I remembered getting braces, but it felt like only yesterday. My mind was breaking faster and faster.

I could still feel the Flare inside me. It poisoned me. It made my head pound more than it already was. It made me angry.

By the fourth day I couldn't bring myself to count the seconds anymore. I couldn't move. My stomach craved food and repelled it at the same time. I was so thirsty. I could only lay there. Sometimes the girl in the next cell would scream or laugh or try to talk to me. I couldn't reply.

It was a miracle how I could keep my eyes open. The man came in. He frowned at my state. I didn't look at him. Then slowly, he produced a tinier needle than was usual. He put it in my arm, instead of my neck. With some relief I realized it was water. But it was gone too soon and the other needle was slammed into me. I didn't scream this time.

My throat was too dry. I just closed my eyes and trembled. I just closed my eyes and cried.

* * *

 **Minho**

We finally made it. We had ended up stealing a Berg from the Right Arm. And now we were finally shucking here.

"We should look around," Thomas whispered.

"Yeah. Or we could get a hostage and make them tell us where they're keeping Newt," I said. Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I think we need more finesse than that Minho, but thanks for the suggestion," He muttered. We had left Jorge and Brenda in the Berg, getaway drivers. Actually, Thomas had wanted to bring Brenda, but I wouldn't have it.

Something told me Newt wouldn't look too good when we found him, and I wanted to spare him as much embarrassment as possible. We walked through the hallways in a low crouch.

"This is ridiculous. We're not shucking ninjas," I finally groaned. Thomas grimaced.

"I guess you're right," He said. We both straightened. My back audibly creaked. We started walking normally. There was something in the back of my mind that was bothering me. I couldn't place it.

"Man, this place is more confusing than the maze," Thomas broke me out of my thoughts. I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head.

"Shank, you were a runner for less than a week, you haven't even been in half the maze," I smirked. Thomas laughed.

"Yeah, but I figured out the code didn't I?"

"Not so loud slinthead, you want to alert all of WICKED to us?"

"Well maybe they have some kind of brochure to tell us where the klunk we are in this place," He grumbled.

"If they do, I bet I know their slogan," I smiled.

"WICKED is good," Thomas and I both said it at the same time.

"Yeah, real welcoming," I laughed. We chit chatted for a little while longer before I realized how empty it was. I was trying to keep myself from panicking. We were so close, but the complex was huge. We could be here for days!

I knew Thomas was feeling the same thing. His smiles seemed strained.

I was still thinking when Thomas froze.

"What is it?" I asked, irritated.

"Shh! Listen," Thomas whispered. I shut up. It was faint, but it still sent chills down my spine. I knew that sound too well to misidentify it. I had heard it one day, in the maze. I had heard it and I had run to it and I had frozen.

It was the sound that still gave me nightmares.

It was Newt. And he was screaming.

"Thomas run," I choked. I was already sprinting toward the sound. "Follow me and don't stop running!"

I tore through the hallways. I didn't know I could go this fast. Somehow I could still hear the screaming over my panting. Thomas was a foot behind me.

Left.

Right.

Right.

Left.

Downstairs.

Faster Minho! Faster!

I sped up. My sides ached. My lungs felt swollen somehow, like they were bloating up in my chest. I was out of breath, but I didn't slow down.

"Minho wait!" Thomas called. I could feel him slowing down behind me. All I saw was one of my best friends, lying crumpled in the maze. There was blood. So much blood was rushing out of him. It was everywhere.

Faster! Run faster!

It wouldn't happen again. It couldn't happen again. I wasn't fast enough then. But this time I would be. So much blood. How could there be that much blood in one person?

Not again! Go faster Minho!

I strained every muscle I had. My thighs burned. The screams were getting louder.

"Minho stop!" Thomas' voice sounded far away. I sucked air, spit it out. Blood swirled in my mouth but I didn't register it as mine. I registered it as Newt's. It was pooling around him. I was in back in the maze.

"Minho you're going to hurt yourself!" Thomas' was yelling my name. But it wasn't him. It was Newt, he was screaming my name. He needed me. Newt needed me. The blood.

Go. Faster. Minho. RUN!

I tried one last time to go faster. My legs suddenly flew out from under me. My face smashed into the ground. I rolled a few feet, slid, and stopped. I groaned. There was a full minute of my trying to get up before Thomas got there.

"Minho? Are you okay?" He grabbed my shoulders and hauled me up. I fell to my knees.

"Yeah, yep, uh-huh. I'm totally fine," I grimaced. I dry heaved. Speckles of blood dotted the floor. I stood up. "Come on," I muttered. Thomas stared at me incredulously as I started walking briskly.

"What was that all about? I've never seen you run close to that fast!" He yelled.

"Nothing. I just remembered something. But that's definitely Newt screaming and we need to get to him immediately," I said.

"No! That was not nothing! You took off like a hundred grievers were on your butt!" Thomas stood in front of me.

"Thomas," I snarled. "You are one of best friends. Okay? But there are some things that are not my secrets to tell. You weren't there, those past two years. You didn't have the pleasure of seeing a dozen kids die, and some almost die. I am going to save Newt. Now, are you coming?"

He seemed taken back. He just nodded lamely and fell into step next to me. I felt bad. I wanted to apologize, but I was never great at saying 'I'm sorry.' So we kept walking until the screaming was deafening.

It stopped. It didn't get quieter first, it just cut off. My heart plummeted in my chest.

"Thomas it stopped," I said. It came out more high-pitched than it should have. Thomas put a hand on my shoulder.

"Minho, calm down. You're not breathing. Maybe he heard us coming," Thomas said, but I heard the tremble in his voice. We had arrived in front of a massive iron door. There was a keycard required.

"Yeah, he totally heard our footsteps through that freaking door," I said.

"Wait a second, someone's coming out," Thomas muttered. He grabbed me and we crept to the nearest corner. We peeked out. The door slid up into the ceiling. A reedy man stepped out. He walked towards us. Then walked into the other hallway. I could have dropped dead from relief.

But I couldn't. The door was already halfway closed.

"Come on," Thomas whispered urgently. He ran and did a baseball slide under the door. I followed. The door slammed closed behind us.

* * *

 **Well? Well? What did you think? I hope you guys liked it!**

 **Fun Fact#7: In the Death Cure, Minho's phase 3 trial was that he was taken to a chamber where a guy wrote his friends' names on the wall and told Minho to pick one that could be saved. The others would die. After repeatedly refusing to pick, Minho's trial was over.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	8. Griever Rose

**Okay, don't worry. This chapter is not much for action. But it's necessary! And besides, the next chapter will be out tomorrow so you won't have a long time to wait!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Taylormh98: Ha! Thanks! Next update is tomorrow!**

 **catnip851: Thanks!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: There's a book called the Maze Runner Files(e-book only) and it basically gives little secrets and Easter eggs about the Maze Runner. A few of my fun facts will be from there, but I like to have different sources. And I don't want to spoil it. I didn't know that actually, about TBS. And now I kind of want to re-watch the movie! Or at least that scene. Thanks! I love writing Minho. He and Newt are my favorite!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Thanks! I'm glad you like it shuck-face. XD**

 **Bteam: Ha! Nice!**

* * *

 _I am scared. Daddy is taking Rose and me away. He says they'll protect us. He says we'll help them cure people like Mommy. He still hasn't found her in the basement. He's not home a lot. He says he can't get sick, so he takes care of a bunch of loonies in a grand palace._

 _We're ready to go. There's a Berg at our door. Daddy hands me Rose, who is still too short to get up the ramp by herself._

 _"Take care of her," He says. "Don't let anything happen to her."_

 _But why would anything happen if these people are going to help us? A lady straps us to a seat. As soon as Rose sees the Lady in White she starts crying. But I think she's pretty and she smiles nice._

 _So I ignore Rose because she's only three and doesn't know better._

I woke up with the ability to scream. It just tore through me. I was trembling. I knew I couldn't have much longer to live. My head hurt so much. I couldn't open my eyes. So instead I slipped in and out of consciousness and tried to sort through the memories in my head.

 _We've been here for a month. There are a few other kids here too. Some are younger, but most of them are my age. Rose is one of the youngest. Her birthday was yesterday. She's four now, but we couldn't have a party for her. So instead we curled up in our room and I made up a story for her as a present._

I swore I could hear Tommy's voice. I swore I could. But I knew that my mind was deteriorating so it couldn't be real. Good that. I didn't need those shanks anyway. If they were even slightly interested in rescuing me they would have got here sooner. Instead they let me suffer. I was dying. I was going absolutely mad. For some reason I was still screaming. I couldn't control my body. I was convulsing. I was yelling bloody murder and sometimes even giggling.

But it wasn't me. It was the Flare.

 _There's another boy here. But he doesn't do what we do. We are made to run on treadmills and solve group problems and build things out of sticks. He just sits there and watches us with his clipboard. He's not even older than me. I don't like him._

 _Rose fell off the treadmill today and he shook his head like a disappointed school teacher. He walked past and didn't even bother to help her. I don't like him. I don't like him._

I looked down at my hands when the convulsions stopped. My eyes were full of darkness. Light. I needed light or color or something. Something to show me I was really here and solid. Something to show me I wasn't floating in some kind of void or limbo. Through my screams I managed to spit. It was bloody. Red.

Color. I spit more. Then I began to paint. I drew a sun, smiling. More spit. A stick figure under it. A swirl to represent the maze. More spit. Two more stick figures. My best friends. But that wasn't accurate. They weren't here right now. So I carefully smudged them out with my thumb until it was only me. Alone.

 _I don't know how long we've been here. They put us to sleep sometimes, and when we wake up we're older. I think Rose is nine now. Maybe eight. I don't know how old I am. She says I must be around twelve._

 _Something happened earlier. They came into our room and that same boy took Rose away. He said he'd be taking her to her own room. I am by myself. I miss her. I've never been apart from her in so long._

 _I'm going to escape tonight. I'm going to find Rose._

I couldn't tell anymore if the man had come and stabbed me. I only knew someone left. My screaming stopped though, which was good. Maybe I could fall asleep for real. I looked down at my bloody picture. A wave of sadness slipped over me.

 _I did it! I did it! I got out!_

 _I am crawling through the vents. I haven't found Rose yet. But-wait a second. There! I look down. There is a room below me full of kids the same age as Rose. That boy is down there too, with the Lady in White. They're talking._

 _"These are the inferiors?" The Lady asks._

 _"Yeah. Either crippled or too young or too physically weak to make it through the trials," He answers._

 _"Good. So the nominees are in place?"_

 _"Yes, they're in their rooms. We'll implant the chips and the memory blocks tomorrow and send them into the first trial the day after."_

 _"Perfect. We'll need to begin making the first variables then. You may start, I'll send a few doctors to help you," The Lady says. Then she begins walking away. I watch as the boy pulls out a scalpel and a knife._

 _He heads to one of the tables. A little boy with deep dimples and a snarky expression on his sleeping face. He looks Asian. And he has gelled black hair. The other boy slowly begins to cut the sleeping child's arms. I watch._

 _I close my eyes. It's not possible. He is being cut into little pieces. Everything is spinning. The boy finishes and picks up each piece. Blood pours into drains embedded in the floor. He throws them into a vat of boiling metal. Then steps back. I want to vomit._

 _There is a little door in the vat and it opens. A lump of metal and flesh squeezes out. The boy attaches metallic spider legs and places the thing inside a big egg-shaped pod. My heart is going to explode._

 _I force myself to keep watching. I examine every child. A darker little girl that reminds me of Marcus. A girl with permanently angry eyebrows that look like eagle wings. So many children. And then I see her. Rose._

* * *

 **I know, I know. Next chapter will be a lot more intense! I promise! Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

 **Fun Fact#8: Ben's banishment scene was also not in the original book.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	9. Not Fast Enough

**Hello hello! I know I took a million years to update, sorry! But my teachers don't seem to understand the importance of writing fanfiction, because they keep giving me pounds of homework every shucking night! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: True, but I love them! I hate reading them, but I love writing them! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Aw thanks! That's a relief, I wasn't sure how many people would like that chapter. I'm really gad I got you with the Minho thing, and you'll see if it was his brother or not. Actually, if you go back, I included lots of descriptions that match TMR characters. Try to see if you can find Gally's sibling. Each chapter has a minimum of 1000 words, and on average they're about 1200 or so. This chapter is 1180.**

 **fadingshadowss: Welcome to the story! I understand why you might have thought that, I'm not great at making short little summaries that hook people right away. Thank you so much, that is one of the best compliments a writer could get! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

We were in a dark chamber. There was no light. It reminded me of coming into the scorch for the first time. That tunnel full of those metal flying balls that...ate people's heads.

I shook my head. Thomas shuffled forward, and I followed. I almost bumped into him. We seemed to be in a prison of some sort. I was getting worried. Thomas froze in front of me suddenly. This time I did run into him.

"Newt?" Thomas called out tentatively. I held my breath. Thomas' voice trembled. "Newt please!" We waited, poised in the darkness for what felt like hours. The silence stretched on and on.

"He's dead you know," A female voice whispered. It seemed so close. I felt Thomas jump a little.

"Who's there? Can you tell us where Newt is? What is this place?" He asked. I smiled slightly. Thomas always had to ask a million questions.

"We are gone. He is gone too. This is crank jail boy. And I bet your little friend is as dead as I'm about to be!" She laughed. Rage boiled in my stomach.

"What's your name?" Thomas asked gently before I could get a word in. My head was still pounding from my run a minute ago and my body was exhausted. But I was still shucking sober enough to be ready to fight this girl.

"Catalina. But you can call me kitty. Do you know why?" She whispered in a sing song voice. "Because I love to eat rats!" She snickered. Then suddenly she screamed. Quick and shrill. I toppled over. Thomas fell next to me. It stopped as unexpectedly as it came.

"Excuse me," She babbled. "Habit."

"Listen shuck-face! Is our friend here or not?" I growled.

"We told you, he's dead! I smelled his ashes as the promise-breaker burned him from the inside!" She rasped.

"What promise-breaker?" Thomas said.

"Your friend told me he was burning him! Its in his blood! The promise-breaker kills with sharp things! Everyday! It was supposed to be my fire! I was supposed to burn instead!" She was sobbing now.

"That's it," I muttered, stepping forward. Thomas placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Minho wait. She's obviously not sane, Newt is probably fine." I nodded before remembering he couldn't see me. The girl started humming. Thomas and I kept shuffling around the space. I felt glass, but I couldn't see through it. We searched helplessly in silence. Then we heard it.

"T...Tommy?"

We both froze and rushed to the cell from where the sound came.

"Newt!" Thomas and I yelled it at the same time.

"Min...Minho?" His voice was barely audible. My heart shattered on hearing him.

"Newt, don't worry. We're here. We're going to get you out," Thomas cried out. I could only nod.

"No...I'll...I'll...hurt you..." He coughed wetly.

"Don't talk like that. It doesn't matter how far past the gone you are. You're coming with us," I said loudly. The girl's humming was getting louder.

"Please...leave...you can't...see me...like..." He cut off with another coughing fit. I pressed my body against the glass.

"No. Newt I know how much you hate being helped and looking weak and all that. But that is the biggest bunch of klunk I've ever heard. We are your friends you dumb shank! Why can't you just let us help you for once!" I had to keep from yelling.

I was reliving a different time. A time where Newt had told me to leave him. He had told me to run and leave him with the grievers. And almost a month later, he told me to leave again. He'd been trying to walk and wouldn't let anyone touch or see him. I hadn't left then. I wasn't leaving now.

"Why. Can't. You. Leave. Me. Alone!" He choked on each word. "Do you enjoy...watching me die? Please! I don't want you to see me die! Let me die alone! Let...me..." He made a gagging sound.

"Newt. I'm really sorry, but we're taking you with us whether you like it or not!" Thomas said coldly. "And we're not letting you die."

"Buggn' friends you are then," He whispered. I didn't have an answer. For the first time in my life, I had nothing to say. So I focused on the girl's humming, which was now turning into full fledged singing.

"Stop making the shucking sound!" I yelled, not looking towards the place where Newt's voice was. The girl took encouragement. She broke into a shrieking high pitch.

I covered my ears but her voice buzzed through.

"He's coming, you've been tricked, the Promise-Breaker's coming! He'll lock you up in jail, to join us as we die!" She sang. She repeated herself over and over until a light shone from behind us. It filled the space. Thomas and I turned.

A fist slammed into Thomas' temple. He dropped to his knees. The other fist came at me. It was the reedy man I had just seen leave. He frowned as I dodged his hit. I aimed a kick at his side and he grabbed my foot, twisting my ankle until I fell.

He put his hands on my shoulders, twirled me around so that my back was to him. And there he was. My body went slack against the reedy man. Newt.

In the light. It was him. But his face was pallid and ravaged in cuts, purple bruises, pus, blood, and scratches. His blond hair was torn out in several places and covered in the same blood that he wore as a second skin. I wanted to vomit. But I couldn't look away.

I searched for my friend in the face of this crank. I stared into his eyes. And even through the swollen, twin brown orbs that swam in their oceans of red, I found him. He was still there. But so, also, was madness. It stared me in the face and I wanted to disintegrate into the ground.

"Newt..." My lips moved with no sound. He looked like he was nodding off. My heart thumped in my ears as I looked to the ground of his cell. A picture drawn in thin blood, maybe spit, had been drawn. I made out a stick figure. And then the smudged remains of what might have been its companions.

I understood then. How he had waited.

You were too late. Again. You weren't fast enough. Again. You let him get hurt. Again. You ran and ran and it _still_ wasn't enough! And guess what runner, you shucked up. And now,

You.

Don't.

Get.

A.

Second.

Chance.

Silent tears streamed down my cheeks as the man behind me smashed his fist into the back of my head. Then everything, went dark.

* * *

 **So, sorry again, and tell me what you think! The weekend is here and updates will be back online!**

 **Fun Fact#9: The cast began filming parts of the Scorch Trials before and during shooting the Maze Runner. And the Death Cure will start shooting in February!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	10. Stolen

**Hey guys! This chapter is a lot more laid back! I hope you enjoy, and please review!**

 **Reviews:**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Don't worry, like I said above, this chapter is a lot less brutal!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Yes it will, but hopefully _it _ won't happen until really close to the end! Thanks! I love writing Minho!**

* * *

He stole them. I wanted them gone but not stolen. But the needle man hurt and took my friends away. He had been waiting for them. I knew that. The crank girl, Kitty, she knew it too. But the difference was that she had warned them and I hadn't.

In my defense, I had been in a complete stupor induced by the wretched, bloody needles! But now, I wasn't. As soon as he had left, the man had come back. And now he stood over me, smiling like a child on Christmas morning.

"Hello Newt," He said.

A slurred mess of half-formed words poured out of my parched lips.

"Not in the mood for talking? Well, I have enough to say for the both of us," He paused, either waiting for my consent, or gathering himself. "After rigorous testing, we've finally done it! You, Newt, were the very first successful test subject. We have done it. We have found the cure!"

I couldn't register the words. What? The cure? For what? Why did I need to be cured? My heart raced. Was I sick? I didn't understand what he was talking about.

"Anyway, we'll be taking you out now. Chancellor Paige wants to speak with you personally. But first, we'll get you cleaned up," He opened my door and waited. I couldn't stand up. The man sighed and walked in. He slipped his hands around my waist and pulled me up.

"Why..." I croaked. Fire shot down my throat.

"This is crank jail Newt, and you're not a crank anymore," He grunted as he practically dragged me out. The large door slammed shut behind us. It hit me.

A cure. WICKED had found a real cure! And that meant I wasn't a danger anymore! I forced my face to smile. But deep down, I felt nothing. Just a miniscule flicker of relief. Nothing more.

I pushed that thought from my head as we reached another room. The man shoved me in and I fell onto my face.

"One hour. That's all you have," He said, then he walked out and locked the door. I took in the room. It was a small apartment, except with white walls and white flooring.

There was a smallish table with platters full of cheese toasties, chicken, beef, salads, bread, and grapes. Large cups were filled with water and orange juice and coffee, and few more brightly colored drinks I had no name for. It smelled heavenly.

My stomach shivered with hints of nausea at the pungent mix of scents. I gathered as much strength as I could muster and began dragging myself on my stomach towards the table. I had to stop every foot or so to catch my breath.

After about three minutes, I made it to the table. Groaning and shaking, I pulled my torso up to the table, and maneuvered myself onto a seat. Panting, I closed my eyes for a second and let my stomach accumulate to the smells.

Then I ate. One bite of each thing. My stomach stretched and ached. I looked at the food, each with one tiny piece missing. How could I be full? I told myself to keep going, and I did.

I forced food into my mouth, but tasted nothing. Next, I poured all manner of drinks into my throat. It was bliss. Especially the water and coffee. The brightly colored drinks were fizzy and sickly sweet, but I still drank.

When I was finished I threw most of I back up. But I was fed ad my thirst was fulfilled. I stood and grabbed a few rags from a small kitchen and cleaned up my mess. It was the first time I was standing in so long.

I collapsed back into my chair, dizzy with nausea and fatigue. After a minute, I was able to shakily stand once more. I went to the bathroom and was happy to see a pristine shower.

I peeled off my blood and grime-smeared clothing and stepped in. The water came fast and hot. I drank some as I washed. Brownish blood came off in the shower, pooling in the drain. I let the water run for a long time, enjoying its purity.

Then I stepped out and found some fresh clothes in a drawer. A loose white, long-sleeved shirt and soft brown trousers.

I slipped some sandals onto my feet and looked over myself in the mirror.

So...

This is what I look like...

I realized then that all I had ever known about my appearance was that my hair wad kind of blondish, and my skin was kind of pale-tan. Or at least, that's what Alby had described.

But now I could see every part of me. Except, it was wrong. I was gaunt and my face was shallow. My brown eyes were sunken deep into my skull and my mouth looked pinched somehow. The shirt literally hung off my shoulders.

I ran a hand through my hair, softer than I had ever felt it. But there was some missing, and I couldn't remember if I had pulled it out. Suddenly I felt very tired. I had to clutch the sink to keep from falling.

Slowly, I made my way into a bedroom and threw myself onto the plush bed. It was warm and deep and so very soft. I fell asleep immediately.

 _I'm running through section four. Minho is in number two. We have to map it. We have to find the way out. I sprint, turning endless corners and committing them to memory._

 _I stop. A sound. A clicking, whirring sound. A griever. I glance behind me, nothing. It must be in front. It must be right around this corner..._

 _The bulbous creature bursts from around the wall with a terrible screech. I turn to run, but it grabs my leg. I face it, waiting for the stinger._

 _It roars at me, and globules of the wet goo that encases it fly into my face. Then I want to do something stupid. I can't explain why. But I want to touch it. Might as well, I'm bloody trapped. So I reach out my hand and stroke the squishy flesh._

 _A shiver runs down my arm, and I feel a flicker of memory. As if I've touched this skin before. I feel an urge to protect it, stay with it, but then the flicker fades and my feelings are replaced with terror. The griever howls as though I've hurt it and lets go of me momentarily._

 _I scramble backwards, stand, and run._

* * *

 **Hope you all like it! I haven't been getting as many reviews as usual, so please review! You guy are the reason I update nearly daily!**

 **Fun Fact#10: One of Kaya Scodelario's dream roles is a Bond girl that doesn't sleep with him, but kills him!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	11. Wise Old Bird

**Hey! So, this is officially my first time updating during the week! Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely reviews I got! This chapter is a bit longer than usual!**

 **Reviews:**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Yes, I am notorious for cliffhangers, but they are so much fun to write! And yes, Newt has been cured, and you'll find out how trustworthy WICKED is after this chapter!**

 **catnip851: Thanks!**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks! And yeah, I don't really like to make things overly happy! I go as realistic as possible. I'm glad you like the story and can understand my weird schedule! Oh, and I swear I read a fanfic like that, but I couldn't find it again! So I would love to write that for you, but it would probably be a one-shot.**

 **Anahi: I know right! Me neither.**

 **Guest: I said it wasn't in the original version, so yeah, the manuscript. Sorry if that was a bit confusing. But yeah, it wasn't in the original manuscript! Could you imagine reading, or watching, the Maze Runner without that scene? I couldn't.**

* * *

I woke up to the sound of knuckles rapping on my door.

"Newt? I'm coming inside. Are you decent?" A female voice yelled. I groaned and stood up dizzily.

"Yeah," I moaned. The door clicked open and a plump nurse walked in. She had a small needle in her hand and I immediately fell backwards over the bed. I scrambled away and she chuckled.

"Don't worry, Newt, this isn't the same thing Gordon gave you. These are just vitamins, packed into a fluid. It'll make you feel less sick," She explained. My head buzzed painfully as she slowly injected the fluid. I did feel a little bit better, and allowed her to help me up. In the back of my mind I registered the needle-man's name. Gordon. It seemed fitting, although I didn't know if it was his last or first name.

"Where we going?" I mumbled, still mostly sleepy.

"I'm taking you to see Chancellor Paige. Gordon wanted to escort you personally, but he was called away on different business."

I nodded.

"Well come on. Oh and put some shoes on. There should be some fresh ones in the closet."

I smiled gratefully and walked to the closet. A pair of black boots was waiting for me. I tried them on, and was surprised to find them actually comfortable. Stumbling, I followed the nurse into the hallway.

We didn't speak much. I was too busy trying to figure everything out. There was one piece of the bloody puzzle that didn't make any sense. And that piece of the puzzle happened to walk into me right then.

I fell to the floor as we collided.

"Oh! Newt! I'm sorry, I wasn't looking!" Little One said. Except she looked different. Instead of blond hair, she had dark black locks spilling over her face. And her chocolaty eyes were bright green.

But she still had the same face. My face!

"Rose?" I whispered. But she was already being shooed away by the nurse. Her eyes flashed on hearing her name.

"We'll talk later," She mouthed, then she was on her way. I stared after her as the nurse dragged me down the rest of the halls.

Eventually we arrived, my head spinning, at yet another blinking door! The nurse all but shoved me in.

"She'll call you up when she's ready," She said, and closed the door behind her. I was in a white waiting room of sorts. I had a fleeting urge to scream or laugh loudly, as is the case every time you're in a silent pristine room.

But instead, I sat on a lumpy white couch and stared at the walls. It seemed like days passed before another feminine voice called out to me through a door in the wall.

"Come in Newt," She said. I walked through the small door and emerged in an office. I was really getting sick of the color white.

But a striking woman was perched behind the desk. She was old, but incredibly beautiful. So much so, I could have wept. Her porcelain skin shined like dove feathers, and looked as soft. Her pale blond hair was pulled in a strict bun on top of her head, and rested there like it was watching over everything. Her figure was straight and tall and gracefully thin.

My eyes travelled to her face, where blazing blue eyes like marbles bore into my own. A tiny half smirk played on her thin, pink lips and her pointed nose stuck out like an ivory beak. A bird. A majestic old bird.

I felt intimidated by her startling beauty. I felt small.

"Sit, Newton," She said. I quickly took my place.

"Very good. Now, I am sure you are aware of your health?"

I wasn't sure what she meant, but I nodded anyway. She smiled.

"It is our greatest achievement. We've finally done it. We've found a cure," She stared wistfully at nothing. I squirmed.

"So...does that mean I can go home?" I said it too quickly. I wasn't thinking. I blushed as Chancellor Paige looked at me with pity.

"There is no home. They've all been destroyed. There is only flare and scorch now. But now we have the means to cure the former!" She practically squealed.

"Yes. But...what I meant was, can I leave?" I asked.

"No Newt. Not yet. You see, we need to observe you a little while longer. To see if any side effects arise, and to make sure it's a permanent cure."

My heart stopped cold.

"You don't know if it's permanent?" I growled. She didn't seem fazed.

"Not yet. And so far, it seems to be slow acting. You weren't always that violent," She winked.

"You know nothing," I said.

"Hm...I wouldn't say that. But, that is not what we're here to discuss," She said briskly. I rolled my eyes.

"Then why did you call me here?"

"I have a very special proposal for you Newton," She grinned madly. It reminded me of the crank girl. My heart beat faster. "Your friends are being held in an interrogation room on the second floor."

"And?" I bit my lip, waiting for her to say we could all see each other.

"And, I need you to go," She paused, as if searching for the word. "And kill them."

My world collapsed in on itself. I stared at her, wide eyed. She merely unfolded her hands and leaned back in her chair, waiting for my response.

"I..." My brain froze up. "I...I...I..."

"Think of it as payback, after all, they made you wait for days before even lifting a finger to rescue you," She said airily.

"Well...but...I..."

"I was watching them the whole time. They even spent a few days weighing the consequences of coming, it is quite dangerous."

"NO!" I screamed.

"Would I lie to you Newt? Would I? I have just saved you from a fate worse than death!" She spoke quickly.

"NO NO NO!"

"Fine. Then I'll just have to kill someone else you love. And this time, I'll have it done right!" She chuckled. My eyes glistened with tears. Who was she talking about? Who? Who? And then I remembered.

Rose.

"I need to go," I said stiffly. I stood up and had to force every limb to keep from running.

"I hope you'll consider my offer Newt. You have until tomorrow to decide," She said as I burst from her office and charged into a full sprint. I dashed through the long hallways for several long minutes until I found it. A small room slightly left ajar.

I sprinted inside and found Rose sitting on her bed.

"What the-"

"Rose!" I gasped. "We need to get out! She'll kill you! She said she's going to shucking kill you!" I wheezed.

Rose looked at me strangely.

"Who?"

"Chancellor Paige!"

"That's ridiculous. She loves me like a daughter."

"No! She's bloody lying! That's all they do here!" I screamed.

"Newt. Listen to me. There is nowhere else to go. This is my home. I am staying here forever, with Ava."

"But, you don't understand! She said she'll kill you if I don't kill my best friends!" I cried. The little girl reached up to grab my chin. She pulled me down to her level.

"Newt, do you want me to die?" She asked sadly. I shook my head furiously.

"Good. Then it's settled. You'll kill your friends," She shrugged. I cried harder.

"But I can't just... _kill_ them!" I mumbled.

"Yes you can. It's easy. Think about all the children that died that night when they began making the first grievers. I almost died that night. Do you really want to lose me again?

"So you are her." I said softly. She hesitated a moment, and looked like he might cry too.

"Yes," She answered. My heart ached.

"How?"

"That's not important," She whispered. Then she placed a kiss on my cheek. "You promised dad that you would protect me. So do it. Protect me big brother," She dared.

"Rose," I could hardly see her through my stream of tears.

"Yes Newt?"

"I love you," I whispered. But something in me didn't want to believe it. I told myself I was just scared of loving. She smiled.

"I love you too."

I was suddenly overwhelmed by weariness. I lay down on her bed, feeling so vulnerable.

"Rose, can you sing me a song?" I asked. My eyes fluttered, and she pushed them closed as the first notes whistled from her throat.

 _I'm covering my ears,_

 _When their words sting and burn_

 _When the world is scorched and burnt_

 _I'm covering my eyes_

 _When everything is empty_

 _When everything is wrong_

 _I'm blocking out the sun_

 _And hiding in the dark_

 _And your voice pulls me back_

 _Hold my hand in yours_

 _And don't_

 _let_

 _go_

* * *

 **Ok, so before anyone goes and tries to Google the song lyrics, I made them up! Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **Fun Fact#11: Thomas Brodie Sangster says he knew absolutely nothing about Newt when he first started filming, other than three things: He was British, he was the nice-guy, and he had a limp.**

 **Wolf Out...**


	12. Impossible Choices

**Happy Saturday! So, first things first, I have written a fanfic of both Newt and Minho's POV of when Thomas got shot in the Scorch, so please go check it out and review if you want it continued or not! It's titled, Moments (But I want to change that, any suggestions for titles?)**

 **Reviews:**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Thanks! And yep, quite a dilemma. You'll find out which he chooses in this chapter, but I'd like to still know which one you were thinking was going to happen.**

 **catnip851: Thanks so much! I might record them, but I'm not sure.**

 **Taylormh98: Thanks, I'm glad you like the story so much! And the one-shot is up! It's titled Moments.**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks! Newt does reunite with them in this chapter, and the story is up! It's called Moments. I do not watch Teen Wolf sorry! But I still love Dylan O'Brien. But Thomas Brodie Sangster is my favorite!**

 **ANAHI'Simagination: Thanks! I'm glad you like the flashbacks because I love writing them! I wish the cure was actually in the Death Cure too, and because of the title I thought it would be before I read the book!**

* * *

 **Minho**

I woke up in a white room, sitting up. My head throbbed and a moan escaped my lips. I tried to stand up and found myself stuck. I looked down drowsily. Thick ropes crisscrossed over my torso, wrists, and ankles. I was tied to a metal pole in the center of the room.

"Good morning Shuck-Face," Thomas' voice pierced my thoughts.

"Yeah. This is just what I want to wake up to. Your voice," I muttered. Then my head cleared.

"Wait, what about Newt! We failed him! Oh no. No no no no no. We need to get out of here before they hurt him more!" I yelled.

"I know. I've been trying to get these ropes loose, but I don't think they're real ropes," Thomas said. I really wanted to turn around and face him, but I couldn't.

"What?"

"Feel them, they don't feel like ropes. They're too cold, and smooth. There's probably some sort of metal in them," He reasoned. I tugged at the ropes and realized he was right.

"They planned this," I said suddenly.

"How do you mean?" Thomas asked.

"When we were running. There were no guards or any people. They were waiting for us to get to Newt. Then they trapped us," I struggled under my bonds. Thomas stayed silent for a long time.

"Well..." He said finally. "There aren't any people now either. So that means—"

"They have something else planned," I finished grimly. I let out a scream of frustration. No matter what we did, WICKED was one step ahead. We were their mice running through a shucking maze, and they watched and controlled us.

We fought the metal ropes for what felt like hours. A door opened somewhere and a little girl walked in.

She looked maybe the same age as Chuck, maybe a little bit younger.

"Hello," She said. She was pale and skinny, with black hair and greenish eyes.

Thomas and I were silent.

She smiled sadly and sat in front of me. She injected something clear in my arm.

"Water," She said. Then she went around and did it to Thomas.

"Who are you?" Thomas asked.

"You can call me Rose," She chirped.

"Aren't you a little young to be working for murderers?" I asked.

"They aren't murderers, they're scientists. And they're my family," She said. "Besides, they've found the cure. Which means, they don't need you anymore."

There was a full second where Thomas and I were silently processing.

"The cure?" I suddenly blurted. "You've...what? I thought you needed immunes!" I shrieked. Thomas said about the same.

"How do you know? What if it wears off! You might still need us!" He yelled.

Rose nodded.

"I guess I should have been more specific. You've both done all of the physical variables planned. So they don't need your bodies anymore. Just your brains. And they don't need you alive for that part," She said. Then she went to some kind of closet and brought out a machine with several tubes and wires.

"What is that?" Thomas said.

"This will provide enough oxygen and nutrients to your brains after your hearts stop to keep them active. Even after the extraction process," She smiled as she attached tubes and plastic suckers to my head and chest. Then she went to Thomas' side and did the same.

The machine clicked on and my head and chest felt light.

"Is this it then? Your just going to kill us?" I yelled.

"Not me. He'll be here in a minute," She grinned. Then she spun on her heel and walked out.

"What do you think's going to happen?" Thomas asked after a while.

"I don't know Thomas. We'll just have to shucking see," I grumbled.

Just then another person walked in. He wore dark brown pants and a loose black shirt with quarter sleeves. He shuffled in with his head down. He raised his face to see and I choked on spit.

Newt was cleaned up but his eyes still had dark circles and his hair was still messy and uneven.

"Newt!" Thomas and I said it simultaneously.

"I'm sorry Minho," He whispered. And he drew a knife from his back pocket.

* * *

 **Newt**

"I'm sorry Minho," I whispered. I had decided last night that family should be more important than friends. That was just how things were. Family over friends. Always.

Minho and Thomas both stared at me. I realized I wasn't sorry about Thomas. He had tried to kill Rose. I was returning the favor.

"Hey Newt," He said. "What are you doing?"

"Shut up," I snarled. "Only Minho gets to speak."

Minho's face turned red with anger.

"What are you talking about?" He yelled.

" _Thomas_ did something. Long ago. I got my memories back shanks," I stepped closer. I saw Thomas wince when I used his real name.

No more Tommy for you.

That's what I told myself. To make it easier. He tried to kill her. He wanted her dead. Now it's my turn.

"What did he do?" Minho asked.

"He tried to kill Rose. He killed all of our siblings!" I screamed. Tears were threatening to swarm my vision, but I bit my lip and stopped them.

"Rose?" Thomas asked suddenly.

"Shut up!" I yelled. I stepped closer to him. My heart broke.

"That girl? Who was she?" Minho asked.

"She is my sister," I said. They froze. I whirled to Minho. "And you! Your little brother! I saw him! I saw Thomas kill him. He chopped his body to pieces along with every other Gladers' family!"

Thomas was shaking. "Why?" His voice was small.

"Grievers. You made their body parts into grievers!" I whispered. Sobs clung to the back of my throat, waiting to be released.

Just get it over with Newt.

Just kill them and be bloody done with it. Thomas' eyes went wide.

My hands trembled. I stepped ever closer to Thomas.

"You tried to kill her. You tried to kill her. My sister. You tried to kill my sister!" I screamed. I was an inch away, holding the knife.

"Newt, stop! We're your friends! I'm sorry, but that was before! I'm different now! We're both different! If she's your sister, I'm like your brother," He said. My chest rose and fell. I swayed. My leg hurt. My head pounded. Tears overflowed from my eyes.

I dropped the knife with a clang and fell to my knees in front of Tommy.

"I'm sorry Rose," I whispered. "I can't do it."

A hidden speaker sounded in the room.

"Excellent job Newton. You have completed the final trial."

* * *

 **Please review, and check out Moments! Thanks for all the support on the story! Next update either tomorrow or after tomorrow!**

 **Fun Fact#12: In the Scorch Trials film, there was a really touching scene between Thomas and Newt where they basically bonded heart-to-heart. That scene didn't make the cut for the movie and it was never released. (Hopefully it'll be on the DVD!)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	13. Like Mother Like Daughter

**Hi! Happy Hallo-week! So, I've decided to warn you this time: This chapter is very sad and you might need tissues!**

 **Seriously though, this was so hard for me to even write.**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: I like messing with everyone's emotions! And this chapter is especially surprising, and sad!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: I know right! And that is _really_ unusual for my stories! Usually I love killing at least one of the main characters! But I think Newt doesn't deserve that. Yep! It was Minho's bro. I've always imagined Minho as a big brother too! Sure, he can be named Aiko, but he probably won't be mentioned very much. It was more of an Easter egg type thing. And, just out of curiosity, did you ask that because of Neon by ImmortalWeapon?**

 **Sadzie: Thanks!**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks! I definitely think the best indication a writer can get that their doing a good job, is making people feel something! Although this chapter might be even worse, in the sense of feels, but I hope you like it! And thanks for reviewing Moments!**

* * *

The room was frozen. I couldn't breathe. Ava Paige strolled into the room.

"I..." My voice broke. I suddenly felt very naked. At least before I was strong, I was in the position of power. But now everyone was staring at me, and I felt so broken.

Ava pursed her lips.

"You have done exceedingly well in this test Newt. Due to your showing of emotions such as love, thought, and guilt, and of course due to your inability to kill, we have concluded that the Flare is indeed gone from your system," She said.

I was shaking. All I wanted was to bloody sleep and go somewhere where I could be safe! That's all anyone wants. But I had been manipulated and cursed and hurt and destroyed so many times...

It was like having a toy. And smashing it with a hammer, and then trying to glue the pieces back on. The toy never works or looks the same. It is never the same.

"So, are you really done then?" Minho asked. Ava glared.

"Yes. Yes I believe we are. Unfortunately, I'll have to ask all of you to stay for a week or so, just so we may monitor Newt for side effects."

"And then we'll all be let go?" Tommy asked. It felt good to call him that again. Ava nodded. I felt like I was outside of the conversation. They were all bloody talking like I wasn't even there.

"I have one question," I interrupted. They all looked away from me. I realized I was running the knife through my fingers. Tiny blobs of blood appeared on my hands and I stopped.

"Yes Newton?" Ava said uncomfortably.

"What if I had killed them, without having the Flare?" I asked. Ava shook her head.

"We were monitoring the patterns in your head the whole time, the results showed that if you didn't have the Flare, you would have only a three percent chance of actually killing them."

"But what if I had! Would you have even tried to bloody stop me!" I screamed.

"Well, if you had...killed them..." Ava fidgeted. "Then we would have watched your patterns to see if your guilt and feeling complex would have been appropriately affected. If you felt bad afterwards, then that would have proved you did not have the Flare."

"You were going to let me kill them. You were going to watch me stab both of my best friends just to see how I would bloody feel about it!?" I yelled.

"Please calm down Newt," She said stiffly.

"NO! I will not calm down you slint-head! We're leaving! And Rose too!"

Rose walked in at that second. I ran to her and hugged her as tightly as I could.

"Congratulations on the trial Newt, I knew you wouldn't do it," She said. I buried my face in her hair even as she tried to pull away.

"You knew?" I whispered.

"Well, yes. But I was going to stop you, if...you know," She answered.

"Thank you, sis," I kissed her cheek and hugged her tighter.

Ava cleared her throat.

"That's another thing, Newt. About Rose..." She trailed off. I spun to look at her.

"What," I challenged.

"She's not your sister," Ava said simply.

My world shattered like glass.

"Sorry?" I asked, hoping I'd heard wrong.

I slowly turned my head to Rose. She smiled sadly. Her slender fingers cupped my face as I sank to my knees. She held my face to hers and made me look at her.

"Newt, listen to me."

"You said...and you knew so much..." I choked.

"Shh, just listen. Okay? Newt," She said. " Rose died that night. She was turned into a griever just like all the other children."

"No," I sobbed. "No, you're right here."

"No Newt. I'm an actress. When you first saw me I was in a wig and contacts. Not even this black hair is my natural color. I'm an actress for WICKED, to help trigger the memories of the subjects," She explained.

"You're Rose," I told her. My heart hurt so badly. And the worst thing was that I knew Tommy and Minho were watching.

"No honey. I'm not. My name is Evelyn Paige. I am not your sister."

"But you look...like me..."

"Prosthetics. I don't look like you. I was in the process of trying to find my wig and contacts when you caught me in the hallway. Why did you think I looked different?"

"I didn't care. I didn't care," Tears blurred my vision. I wanted to crawl in a corner somewhere and die. I missed the Vault. At least there, no one could see me cry.

"Rose is gone. You have no family left other than your friends here, I'd enjoy them if I were you," She said. Then she released my face and walked away.

At some point during our talk, Tommy and Minho had been released. I curled up in a ball on the floor and trembled. They were suddenly around me.

Minho cradled me and Tommy stroked my hair.

"It's alright Newt. Just let it out buddy," Minho said awkwardly. I could tell he was uncomfortable, I cried harder.

"Yeah, you heard her. We're your family," Tommy said. My heart felt empty and full at the same time. I hugged myself and let my friends take turns consoling me as I let my tears wash my pain away.

* * *

 **I know, I know...I just love writing sad stuff though! Especially since I just finished reading a really sad book. It's called Flowers for Algernon, go check it out if you're looking for a really touching book.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed Moments! I am in the process of writing the next chapter!**

 **Fun Fact#13: (I hope you're used to most of these being about TBS) Thomas Brodie Sangster said that if he as Newt had to pick whose life to save between Minho and Thomas, it would be Minho!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	14. Talking

**Hi**! **Happy Halloween! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Leave in the reviews what you've dressed up as!**

 **Reviews:**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Yeah! Plot twist! XD, And apparently he does ship it! But it was a very hard decision for him and he chose Minho because Newt has known him longest. Thanks, I like writing sad chapters! But this isn't one of them!**

 **catnip851: Thanks!**

* * *

Everything was different. We had stayed in a dorm for the past two days now. Minho and Tommy and I barely spoke to each other. It was like living with two strangers.

I would hear Tommy and Minho talking to each other while they thought I was sleeping. But I could never bring myself to talk to them back.

My heart and soul always hurt now. I wanted everything to be like it was before. I just wished we had stayed in the Glade. Maybe we could have fought off those grievers. Maybe we could have closed the maze doors.

But now there was nothing we could do to turn back time. We were stuck in the present.

"Hey Newt?" Tommy's voice almost made me fall out of the top bunk. I turned to him, but looked over his shoulder rather than his eyes.

I didn't answer.

"Um...Minho and I were wondering...do you want to, you know, talk about all this?" He asked. I kept looking behind him.

"You can't just ignore us forever you slint-head!" Minho added. I looked away. As much as I wanted to speak to my friends, I couldn't bring myself to. It was too painful.

"Okay, we're coming up," Minho jumped o the ladder to my bunk and sat in front of me, along with Tommy. I sighed.

"Guys...please. You don't have to do this," I muttered.

"Yes we do. You're not even close to yourself. We came here to rescue Newt. Not whatever version of Newt you're being," Minho said.

I gritted my teeth.

"Really? That's funny mate, because you haven't been doing much _rescuing_ since you bloody got here!"

Minho and Tommy stared.

"Yeah and you can quit staring me like I'm some blinkin' endangered animal!" I yelled. They sighed.

"We're just trying to talk Newt," Tommy reasoned.

"And I said I don't want to talk!"

"Can you just shut your whining for one shucking second! We know you hate being the damsel in distress and all, but you're going to let us help you!" Minho yelled.

"I don't need your help!"

"Yes you do!" Minho and Tommy said simultaneously.

"Fine! Maybe I do need help! Maybe I do! But you two shanks would never even begin to understand what I've been through! I'd sooner go to therapy with that deranged crank girl! At least she knows what it's like to feel insanity slowly take over your mind and know with complete certainty, that you want to die!" I screamed.

"Then help us understand Newt. Tell us everything," Tommy said. I stayed silent.

"I...I...Maybe tomorrow. We should get some sleep," I stalled.

"I'm not tired, what about you Thomas?" Minho asked. Tommy shook his head.

"No, not really. In fact, I could stay up all night," He said pointedly. I glared at both of them.

"Fine. We'll all sit here and I'll tell my little sob story and you can say some magic word that'll make everything better," I rolled my eyes.

"That's the plan," Minho agreed.

"Right," I muttered. "Now, where to start..."

"May I suggest the beginning?" Minho quipped.

"May I suggest shutting up?" I mocked. I rubbed my temples and tried to gather my thoughts. Finally, I found a good place to begin.

"They came from WICKED," I started. Minho snorted.

"Don't make this sound like some kind of novel," He laughed. I glared at him until he stopped talking.

" _Anyway,_ I was in the Berg, you know, watching cartoons in my mind and chatting with the chairs like any old loony having a great time, when they just burst in. I tried to leave you guys a note."

"Yeah, we saw," Tommy said.

"Yeah well, they took me away and locked me up in some room. I...can hardly remember...It's like it happened years ago. I met Rose...or whatever her real name is...after that. Or maybe before? I'm not really sure. But while I was in that room, I started to not feel so bad. I was happy actually.

"And then there was a testing room. Oh! And Frypan was there. But I don't know where he is now-"

"Wait, Frypan is here?" Tommy asked. I read his mind.

"Yeah, all the cranks from the other group got taken here. Which means Theresa didn't."

"Oh, right. Yeah," Tommy said.

"They gave us all these weird shots, I think they were supposed to be to see how the Flare reacted with emotions, but I don't remember much of what happened. I do remember being really mad, like, I wanted to kill you both for real. And then...then I think I was being chased. By that crank girl. She wanted to eat my eyes.

"I ran into a room. It was Rose's bedroom. And that's pretty much when they took me to the Vault. They gave me prototypes of the cure everyday. It hurt a thousand times more than when I-" I stopped.

Minho and I shared a meaningful look. Tommy didn't know.

"Than when I got attacked by the grievers in the maze and got my limp," I finished. Minho nodded. Tommy gave me a quizzical look.

"The point is that I couldn't take it. I...I really wanted to just die! And I was so angry at you idiots for letting me rot in the prison! I hoped that I'd be dead when you found me so you would feel bad for being so late. But, that's not how it turned out. And when they told me I was cured, Ava said I had to kill you, or she would kill Rose."

"But, Rose isn't your sister," Minho finished.

"No, no she isn't," I sighed.

"And her last name is Paige. Evelyn Paige," Tommy brought up the one thing I hadn't wanted to think about. The one thing I wanted to forget more than anything.

It didn't seem fair, for a monster like Ava to have a bloodline. And for me to have nothing. I had nothing.

"So shanks," I said sardonically. "How are you going to make this better?"

"I think we already did, at least we're talking right?" Tommy said.

"Sure. Now get off my bloody bed before I kick you off," I mumbled. Minho grinned.

"Sure your majesty," He jumped down into his bed below mine. Tommy jumped too and went to his bunk on the other side of the room.

I breathed. For the first time in a while I felt light. But there was still darkness in my heart and I still lived in fear of more hurt.

* * *

 **Mostly a recap/filler chapter, but I thought it was sweet. And there are clues for the future plot in this chapter, hidden in very, very plain sight. Can you find them?**

 **Fun Fact#14: There was a Twitter competition released in early September called #ScorchMaze, where you had to go through a choose-your-own-path game and then enter a drawing to have your name selected to feature in the Fever Code. But it ended Oct. 19, and it was only open to UK residents. *Sigh***

 **Wolf Out...**


	15. The Girl Of Many Faces

**I love twists! (That was a hint!) I really, really like them!**

 **Reviews:**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter, and the one before that with the Rose thing. My day's fine, thanks for asking. XP**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Thanks! I tried to make just a relaxing fluffy chapter, and I'm super glad you found it funny! Those were actually some of my favorite lines to write, and I love it when reviewers tell me their fav lines or parts!**

 **catnip851: Oh that's so cool! I thought about being Newt as well, but had the same problem. Glad you liked it! Enjoy!**

* * *

I snuck out. I needed space. Air. Time. So I left while they slept. I needed to be back in an hour or so, but that would be enough.

There was someone I needed to see.

Slowly, silently, I made my way through the corridors. It was so hard to even tell when it was day and night here. The lights in the halls never changed.

But despite the conformity of the building I was able to find my way into the right corridor. My hands dripped with sweat. I had no pockets, so they hung awkwardly at my sides. I chewed my lip nervously.

Just straight ahead.

An iron door hanging slightly ajar.

I padded up to the door and slunk inside. The room was still as pink as I remembered. A girl with red hair and brown eyes was at the vanity, brushing out her short cropped hair.

I watched her for a moment as she picked up a can of spray tan and spritzed some down her arms. She already looked completely different.

"Hey," I whispered. She jumped and whirled around with the spray can pointed at me like a gun. Her eyes widened when she realized it was me but she didn't lower the spray.

"Get away from me! I told you I'm not your sister! If you try anything I'll have a hundred WICKED guards here in seconds!" She growled. I smiled humorlessly.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I know we're not related. I just...wanted to talk," I mumbled.

"About what?"

"Uh..." I suddenly felt stupid. I just figured once we saw each other we'd have a million things to say. I at least thought she might want to apologize.

"Look. Newt. Why did you come here?" She asked.

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess I just wanted to make sure this was all happening for real."

She smiled.

"It is. You're cured. You have your friends. In a few more days you'll have your freedom. This is real."

"Well. I don't really have my friends, do I? We don't trust each other anymore thanks to your shucked up mum," I muttered.

"Ava does what it takes," She looked down.

"Did you just call her Ava?"

"Yeah. She's not my real mom. She rescued me from crank parents past the Gone and gave me her last name. She's always wanted a daughter."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

I wrung my hands together and moved to sit on her bed. She watched me wearily. I knew I would need to go back soon, but I wanted to see her face. Although now she looked nothing like she did before.

"So...what are you doing?" I asked awkwardly.

"I'm getting ready for my next subject. Some girl from Group B," She said.

"Do you...do learn about everyone before you pretend to be their sibling?" I asked.

"Of course. Yours was an interesting case. Your sister sounded wonderful."

"So WICKED has files or something on all of us?"

"No. Hard-drives with your memories on them. All I need to do is just plug them into my head and experience your lives up until the swipe," She explained.

"What!" I was surprised. I guess I never thought it'd be that simple. "Then why does Ava need _you_ to spark the memories of the _subjects?_ " I spat.

"Because it's dangerous to have your own memories come so quickly because then your body suffers an emotional and mental breakdown. But you don't really feel someone else's memories directly. It's just kind of like watching a movie."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. But of course my appearance can't give a subject all his memories. Just get it started. And then we give them the choice of watching the rest on the drive."

"I don't want to watch mine," I sighed.

"Yeah. I thought so," Then she smiled sadly. "It's getting late Newt. You should head back."

"I guess," I agreed. Neither of us moved.

Then I forced myself to stand. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay in this room full of color and feeling rather than go back into the sterile whiteness of the hallways.

I mostly wished I knew what she really looked like.

"Wait a second," I said. "How old are you really?"

"Fifteen. I'm just short for my age. And I had to go on a diet to play such a young girl," She said. I looked at her thin arms and legs. I thought about that. In the Glade, Alby had told me I looked about seventeen or eighteen. And I had confirmed that when I looked in the mirror.

"Rose," I started.

"Evelyn," She corrected.

"Right. Evelyn. Do you...maybe want to come with us? When we leave? Maybe we could be friends, or something," I stuttered.

"Newt. You know what your doing, right? You're trying to create any sort of relationship so your heart can account for the loss of me as your sister."

"Maybe. Or maybe I just like you," I stepped closer. She stood up.

"Newt, really. Look at this scientifically. You don't like me. You don't even know me."

"But I can get to know you," I stepped even closer. This reminded me of the first time I was here. Except then I had been trying to attack her.

We were inches apart. I could smell the still wet spray tan and feel her heat.

"If I can't love you as a sister. I'll love you like this," I whispered. My head dipped and my arm slunk around her waist. I pulled her in and our lips brushed against each other.

"Newt stop it!" She cried. Her hands pushed against my chest and we pulled apart. She gasped in flustered breaths while I stood dumbfounded and blushing.

"Why?" I asked. "Why can't you give me a chance? I just want you close to me, and you keep pushing me away at the last second!"

"You don't like me! You want me there so you can force us to have some kind of connection! You said it yourself just now!" She screamed.

"But if you just gave me a chance to really get to know you-"

"No! _This_ will never happen!"

"Why!?"

The door opened. Minho walked in.

Except. It wasn't Minho.

It was a smaller version of him. A boy maybe a year younger than me.

Evelyn breathed out a sigh of frustration.

Tiny Minho walked up to her and hooked his lips onto hers. They kissed for about ten long seconds. Then he pulled away and smirked at me.

"Newt," Evelyn said. "This is Tyler Raid. But right now he's playing Minho's younger brother Aiko. He's my boyfriend."

* * *

 **Yay! I enjoyed writing this! Poor Newt! He just keeps getting his heart ripped out! I love it! Please review and tell me what you think! Also, sadly, this story is winding down. There should still be a good five chapters, maybe more. But the general plot is starting to end.**

 **Fun Fact#15: When asked which one he would choose out of (A) Being part of WICKED, (B) being stuck in the Glade forever, or (C) suffer from the Flare virus, Thomas Brodie-Sangster chose WICKED. I'm stuck between WICKED and the glade, what would you choose?**

 **Wolf Out...**


	16. Something's Wrong

**Hi hi! So, sorry for the late update! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Reviews:**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Ooh, you don't know how right you are!**

 **catnip851: Really? You'd rather have the flare? Wow, you're braver than me. But I do agree with being stuck in the glade. Oh and thanks! Enjoy the chapter!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Yeah, glad you like that! As far as telling, well, you'll see. ;) I think as long as the doors don't decide to stay open, the glade is an okay route. But with Wicked you're pretty much free. Unless you're not immune and you have to go through the Purge. But Ki Hong Lee also decided to go Wicked, so you're not alone! Thanks for the fav line!**

 **UtilitarianShank: Wow, nice. I think it's cause is good. But I would have at least asked for consent of the gladers before the swipe.**

 **fadingshadowss: Yeah, hopefully they will. ;) Thanks!**

* * *

I tiptoed back into our room with my head spinning. What was going on? That boy, Aiko or Tyler or whatever his name was.

He was going to trick Minho next. I had run out of their room. They hadn't stopped me. And now I was standing in the middle of a dark room lined with bunks. My friends' sleeping forms created a buzz of soft snoring.

I stared at my feet. What to do...what to do?

I took a breath. I needed to tell Minho. Yet something didn't make sense. Why would they even bother playing his brother when Minho already knew about the kind of things those kids did.

I shook my head to clear it. Questions swam in my mind. I stepped forward towards the ladder to my bed. I would resolve this in the morning. First, I needed sleep. First, I needed-

A wave of dizziness crashed over me. White light seared across my vision in hot flashes. I stumbled, clutching at the ladder. A small moan escaped my lips. I hung on to the metal rungs. The room stopped spinning.

My vision cleared.

I scampered up the ladder and lay down in my bed, anticipating another spell. Nothing. I breathed deeply. I was fine. It was probably nothing. Just stress. Or sleep-deprivation or something. I sighed.

Slowly, I let myself sink into sleep.

 _Darkness. Nothing but darkness._ _I am swimming in it. It is circling, trying to get me. It wants to swallow me. It is getting closer. Soon I will drown in it._

 _I want to touch the darkness. My hand reaches out. It is warm, and makes me feel numb everywhere. But now it is slipping into my ears and nose and mouth and throat. I choke on inky darkness._

 _And it fills up my lungs and gets into my veins, poisoning me._

 _I die._

"Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty," Minho's voice called me out of slumber. I couldn't remember what I'd dreamed about, but it left me feeling anxious. I jumped down from my bed.

Tommy was in the bathroom. It was just me and Minho.

"Um, Minho..." I started awkwardly. "Does the name Aiko mean anything to you?"

A spark of something flickered in his eyes. But he shook his head.

"Nah, why?"

I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. If I told him, I'd have to explain why I even left the room.

"Never mind. I forgot anyways," I mumbled. He looked at me quizzically, then shrugged.

Tommy walked in.

"Well shanks, what are we doing today?" He chirped. I hid my smile.

"I was going to go to a party actually, maybe catch a movie," Minho rolled his eyes. This time I grinned.

"We've got some time before they call us for lunch. Maybe we can explore the place a bit more," I said. The door clicked open. A dark man in a doctor's coat waltzed in.

"Precisely my thoughts," He sneered. "My name is Anton. Consider me your tour guide."

Minho, Tommy and I all looked at each other.

"Is anyone else sick of sleazy doctors popping up everywhere?" Minho muttered.

Anton glared, then gestured at the door. We followed.

For the next hour we walked the halls of our floor. Anton pointed out a workout area, the kitchen/rec room, and a few bathrooms. We hung back so we could talk in privacy.

"How many more days do we need to stay here?" Minho whined.

"Should only be a few left," I said. Tommy sighed.

"I hate it here. Feel like a shucking lab-rat," Minho said.

"On the contrary," Anton breathed. "Your crank friend is the lab-rat."

Minho scowled.

" _He_ has a name. And if you call him a crank one more time I'll break your jaw!" He snarled.

Anton whirled around.

"It seems you're forgetting that we have the power to make your stay here _much_ more painful!" He shoved his face up close to Minho's.

Something flickered in Minho's eyes. He stared at Anton with twitching hands. I stepped closer in case I had to grab him. Finally he exhaled and looked away. Anton grinned and turned. He started walking again.

Minho shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. Tommy placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Nothing. Leave me alone," He muttered.

"Um..." I cocked my head. "You can tell us if something's bothering you."

"Yeah, I know," He said. We walked the rest of the tour in silence. Tommy and I shared looks on Minho's behalf.

Eventually the tour ended and we were herded back to our room. Anton sneered as we went in.

"Oh, and no more late night walks, crank," He sang, locking the door behind him. Minho yelled and punched the door. Tommy and I rushed forward.

"Minho! Minho!" I grabbed his chest and hauled him back. Tommy helped me dump him onto the bed.

"Okay, what is bloody going on?" I yelled. Minho squirmed. Tommy sat on his chest.

"He called you a crank! I told that shank not to call you that!" Tears glistened in his eyes. I shook my head. Something was seriously wrong.

"Please, just calm down and tell us what's wrong," Tommy said in his calmest voice. Minho went limp. I could see sweat shining around his blood-shot eyes. His breath came out in short gasps.

I stared. Nothing was ever easy, was it? My mind raced to come up with explanations for this. Maybe Aiko had something to do with it?

But how?

Slowly, I gestured for Tommy to get off of Minho. He did and we watched him suck in air. His fingers still twitched. Something shifted just below his pupils. But he didn't move.

"Please. What happened?" I pleaded. He looked at me with a pained expression. A remorseful grin spread across his face.

"There's something living in my head," He whispered.

Realization slapped me and I froze as Minho started cackling.

* * *

 **No, this is not a cheeky way for me to repeat the plotline over and over with different characters. This serves a greater purpose! Please review and tell me what you think! Also, Moments has been updated with the final chapter, so please check that out!**

 **Fun Fact#16: Ki Hong Lee has said that he would use flatulence as a defense against cranks. (What would you use?)**

 **Wolf out...**


	17. Not Just Yet

**Hello! I wrote this chapter really quickly, so I hope it's good! A couple of you have been reviewing Remembered, so thanks a million for that!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Catnip851: True. Thanks, enjoy the chapter!**

 **angelcarstairs4679** **: Haha, yeah. But he won't repeat Newt's path.**

 **NorangeKat722: Nice. ;D I would probably do the same, or just get to high ground with a life-time supply of groceries and hide.**

 **nimkrissyjumanji: Oh, he still is. Kind of. This chapter explains it all! Thanks for reviewing! Glad you like the story!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Yep, sorry! I couldn't help myself XD. And to Anton, very true. He's one of the biggest jerks I've ever had the mind to write.**

 **fadingshadowss: Yeah, but the story's not over yet! Thanks for the compliment, and the test thing is a good idea. But no, that's not quite it. There are a lot of clues in this chapter, and in the chapter before this. ;)**

* * *

Tommy and I took shifts watching Minho. We'd tied him to his bed posts with a few sheets and he was staring at us quietly.

Coldly.

I saw the familiar signs of insanity. It was my shift. I sat on the floor opposite to him while Tommy slept.

An assortment of plastic kitchen knives sat around me. In my hand I held small hair scissors with dulled ends. Weapons that would barely stop a toddler. Yet I clutched my scissors tightly like a sword and eyed the knives every few seconds.

Minho didn't take his eyes off me. I stared at the ground uncomfortably, trying not to look at him. If I looked into those eyes it would make it all the more real. How did this happen?

Minho was immune!

And even if he wasn't, how could he have gone this long without getting it?

Why hadn't he had it when I did?

We could have stayed in the Berg together and helped each other. So why the bloody shuck did he have to get it now?

I sighed. Maybe it was different with everyone, but his flare seemed to be progressing a lot quicker. And more suddenly. Unless we had just taken this long to bloody notice.

I buried my head in my hands.

"It's not your fault by the way," Minho's voice startled me. I had almost forgotten he was watching.

"What?" I asked.

"I probably didn't catch it from you."

"That's not what I'm worried about. You and Tommy are immune!"

"Maybe they just told us that to see how we would react!"

"But you even got into the city, and they tested you both!"

"Tests can be wrong."

I glared at him but said nothing.

"This sucks," He breathed finally. I raised an eyebrow.

"I can just feel them, or it, or whatever. I can feel it moving in my brain, like an itch I can't reach! And I just, I need to get it out! I just..." He began struggling against his bounds.

"Minho! Calm down!" I yelled. Tommy moaned in his sleep. I rushed forward and pressed Minho back down. "Minho, slim yourself nice and calm alright?"

He looked wildly at my hands, still holding him back. His vision focused, and he slowly brought his eyes up back to me.

"Look," I said, "I know exactly how it feels. But I need you to try and clear your mind. The less you think, the slower the virus can cover your brain."

"NO! You don't know at all how this feels!" He growled. "I want to kill you!"

I stared as tears began dripping down his cheeks.

"Every inch of me wants to strangle you, or chop you up or burn you. Watch you suffer while I lick up your blood. I can feel those urges. But I don't want to hurt you or anyone else. But...I can see it though. Visions of what it would sound like to hear your screams and rip out your tongue. I can taste your blood in my mouth. And I'm scared," He sobbed.

I nodded, backing up.

"We'll help you Minho. WICKED has a cure remember? Tommy and I'll go find Ava tomorrow when they unlock the doors." I whispered.

"Anton said something before he locked us in. About you," He rasped. I stiffened.

Could I tell him? Maybe it wouldn't make a difference. Or maybe he'd forget about it after he got the cure. I couldn't remember many of the conversations I'd had while I was still a crank.

The whole experience was haze of pain and anger. Not many specifics.

Sighing, I went to tell Minho.

"The other night I—"

Dizziness crashed over me. I choked on my sentence, flailing for the bed posts to hang on to. Colors and shapes exploded in my eyes. I blinked furiously, reeling at the sudden nausea.

My body as leaden, and I felt like I was on a boat. Swaying and gagging, I clapped one hand over my mouth.

It stopped.

Just like the first time, it ended as quickly as it came.

I gasped for air as glanced at Minho, who was staring at me with morbid amusement. I waited for him to speak.

"Geez Newt, you could've just said you didn't want to tell me. Didn't have to do all that," He gave me a lopsided smile, and slumped. Eyes closed. Asleep.

I could have laughed. Almost.

Except this was the second time now.

Which meant something was wrong with me too.

* * *

"I thought Minho and I were immune!" Tommy screamed at Ava Paige. When Anton had returned in the morning we'd kidnapped him and forced him to lead us here. But Ava didn't seem the least bit surprised.

We'd left Minho tied up in the room.

She smiled sweetly at us, eyeing Tommy. Finally she breathed, readying her answer.

"You were and you are. At least, molecularly," She smiled enigmatically. I rolled my eyes.

"What's that bloody mean?" I sighed.

"Please, sit. You must be tired after looking out for your friend all night," She drew her chair and sat down. Tommy and I glanced at each other. Ava nodded at the chairs in front of us. Reluctantly, we sat.

"As you know, we were able to uncover the specific chemical compounds found only in brains like yours, Thomas, that make immunes immune," She explained. We nodded.

"Well, knowing that combination, we have found a counter combination that _blocks_ it," Ava grinned slyly. Tommy scowled.

"So you tested it on Minho?! Why would WICKED ever even need something like that?" He yelled. I looked down. Anger was building inside my chest, pushing my ribs outward. I breathed deeply, trying to stay calm. I hoped Minho was okay.

This must've been what it was like for them when they left me in the berg. I felt the need to check on him constantly. Worry wrapped around my heart like a vice, squeezing hard.

"No Thomas," Ava's voice brought me back to the present. "We tested it on both of you."

"What?" I yelled. "Why!?"

"What should it matter? We have the cure," From her lab coat, Ava withdrew two syringes. Tommy's eyes glowed. I wondered why it was affecting him slower than Minho. And how had they even tested this _anti-cure_ on them without any of us knowing?

When I asked, Ava nodded.

"While they slept... while you were out," She said. I stared wide-eyed. If I hadn't left, could I have stopped this? Or would they have just tested it on me too? I couldn't imagine going through the flare a second time.

The horrible pain of knowing what you'd eventually become. Of being trapped in your own body, able to watch yourself about to kill, but unable to stop yourself. The sudden sweetness of blood.

The torture.

I shuddered, breathless as if waking from a nightmare.

"Then if I have it too, why am I okay, and Minho isn't?" Tommy snarled.

"That's because you're the control variable. You have the regular, slow flare. While Minho has a more concentrated version, injected directly into his brain."

Tommy spit in her face. She reeled back, a look of horror in her eyes.

"Why!" He screamed. "Tell us why!"

Ava smiled shakily, recomposing herself.

"You're smart boys. You'll figure it out," She waved a hand dismissively. Tommy and I growled, backing away from her desk with the cure in hand.

The lights went red and an alarm barreled into the building. Everyone froze as screams erupted from the other side of the door.

"Subject A7 is loose! Subject A7 is loose!" The loudspeaker droned.

Ava's face morphed into fear. Tommy and I faced the door. My hands trembled. Tommy held the syringe like a weapon.

Clang!

Someone pounded on the door.

CLANG!

Again. We backed up.

"Give it to me! Where is it?! GIVE IT TO ME!" A muffled voice yelled.

"We need to open that door!" Tommy said quickly.

"No! We wait until he's stable!" Ava ordered. I nodded at Tommy and approached the door. Ava's protests were loud in my ears.

"GIVE IT TO ME YOU SHANKS!"

Another clang.

I pushed a button on the door and retreated immediately. The lock clicked.

The door slammed open.

Minho burst into the room like a dog released from his leash. His head swiveled wildly, taking in the space. His eyes locked on Tommy. The cure was in is hand.

"Give me the cure!" His breath was ragged. I noticed his arms covered in reddish liquid. "He said you had it!"

I looked to see who he was talking about. Behind him, a small Asian kid stood smiling. Aiko.

Tyler.

Imposter.

"Minho, we're giving it to you okay?" I said. "Just calm do-"

A dart flew into his neck. He pawed at it, eyes widening in shock. Then he went limp and fell to the ground. We turned to look at Ava.

"Not just yet," She clucked. "Needs a few more memories first."

* * *

 **This is the longest chapter in the story so far! Almost 2000 words! I really hope you guys liked this chapter! Please review!**

 **Fun Fact#17: Ki Hong would rather be stuck in the scorch than in the maze. (Me too) And in a zombie apocalypse, the first person he'd call would be his mom! (Same)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	18. Little Brother

**Hmm, It looks like most of my updates have been happening on Fridays. Maybe I'll make that my official updating day. But for now, I'll stick with "surprise updates!"**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: Will do, thanks for reviewing!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Haha! Thanks! I love Ki Hong, he's so sweet, which is why this chapter is Minho's pov! You are the second person to guess that this is a trial, but no, it isn't. But that is a very cool idea, survival of the fittest. And I know right, I can't wait for that book. If Minho actually has a brother that'll be hilarious! But maybe I'll be able to blackmail Dashner and say I'll sue him if he doesn't let me hang out with TBS and KHL and Dylan for a day. ;) Nice words, I think it's Mothershucker.**

 **NorangeKat722: Ha, yup. Thanks for reviewing!**

 **fadingshadowss: You know, I actually haven't decided if I at to torture Tommy with this whole fare thing. Hmm, maybe I will, just to even things out. And I also love Thomas whump! Thanks so much! Glad I made you fangirl! :D**

* * *

 **Minho**

 _I am running through the house. My socked feet slip on the hardwood floor, but I catch myself and keep going. I hear him running behind me, but I have a plan. I hop and allow myself to slide around a corner. The stairs are in front of me. Grabbing onto the railing, I run down the staircase and skip the last four. Mommy has just mopped the kitchen, but my brother doesn't know that._

 _I slow down and carefully slide out of the kitchen and hide behind the wall just as Aiko comes crashing into the room. I hear him squeal as he slips and falls on his butt. I giggle and walk into the kitchen._

 _His face is red and his tiny hands are balled up in fists. I laugh, but stop when he starts screaming and covering his face like he's crying._

 _"Aiko, hey!" I say._

 _"MOOMMEEEEE!" He yells at the top of his lungs._

 _I plop down next to him and wrap my arms around his little frame._

 _"Hey, don't cry. I'm sorry. It was a joke," I say. He turns his head up to me and I see he is not crying. He is laughing. He plants both hands on my chest and pushes me down._

 _"Tag! You're it!" He laughs as he runs away back up the stairs. I shake my head, grin, and start chasing._

I woke up with my head pounding. I tried to sit up and realized I was strapped to a table. A bright light shone on my face and only added to my headache. I squirmed as panic blossomed in my chest.

"Hey brother," A round face suddenly loomed over mine. Aiko. He was my little brother. Sort of. The thing was, a part of me knew it had to be some random kid playing dress-up, like with Rose and Newt, but that part of me was too small for me to care about it.

I knew what he was. But I still wanted to see him as my brother. I still needed him to be my brother. Especially now that I had the shucking flare.

He smiled sweetly and my heart ached. For some reason I felt like crying. He squeezed my hand and his touch sparked something in my brain. Then he placed a mask over my face filled with a minty smelling gas.

"Dream," He whispered right before I passed out.

 _A doctor is staring at Aiko and I. Mommy and Daddy dropped us off a few hours ago. They kissed us and hugged us and gave us presents. Aiko doesn't know why. He keeps asking me when they'll get back and if I think they'll bring any food because he's hungry._

 _I know why they gave us these stupid gifts. I know why a tear shone in Mommy's eye when she hugged me so tight I could barely breathe. They're not coming back. Ever._

 _But Aiko doesn't know that, and I won't tell him either._

 _The doctor pokes us and gives us shots. He's running tests, or at least that's what he tells us._

 _"When are Mommy and Daddy coming back?" Aiko asks him. The doctor looks at me, then smiles at Aiko._

 _"I don't know," He says. I nod like he said the right thing, but my stomach feels sick and I am holding back tears._

 _"Come, one last test," The doctor says. He hasn't told us his name, and he doesn't look like a doctor. But he sounds like one, so I guess he must be. Also he wears a badge, but I'm not great at reading, especially since he keeps moving around._

 _I think it says: WIDK._

 _But I don't know what that means. I point it out to Aiko as we follow the doctor and he says it sounds like "wig." He laughs and I try to laugh too. The doctor leads us into a huge gym and puts me on a treadmill._

 _"You're next," He wags his finger at Aiko. I like him, he's a nice doctor._

 _He turns on the treadmill and I start running. I think about how nice it feels to move. And then I think about why Mommy and Daddy left us. Maybe it's like how Jonas' parents were taken away because they were sick, and were going to live with all the other sick people._

 _But if that's true than why are we the ones in a big hospital? Are we sick? I run faster, trying to keep from crying. The doctor is telling me to slow down but I don't want to. Mommy always called me her little runner._

The next shucking time I woke up screaming. I wanted to claw at my head. It felt like it was exploding. But the straps were too strong. I cursed at them trying to get free. I needed air. I sobbed for no reason. Memories. That's what they were. Filling up my head and trying to cram into my heart. The mask was gone.

"Aiko!" I found myself screaming. Soon he was at my side.

"What are you doing to me you slinthead!" I hissed. He looked shocked.

"Just calm down, this is the least painful way for you to regain your memories naturally."

"What about those machines? When we first got here, Janson asked us all if we wanted to get our memories back and he had machines!" I screamed.

Aiko rolled his eyes like I was an idiot.

"Duh, what do you think you're hooked up on? But they don't work without a stimulus."

"Newt didn't use a machine," I muttered.

"We had more time for Newt. Your flare has been genetically enhanced and concentrated into double its speed, meaning you'll reach the gone in a matter of hours, which wasn't supposed to happen. Honestly, you surprised us all. We'll have to dial the speed down once we release it to the public," He smiled enigmatically.

"Why are you telling me this?" I rasped as he placed the mask over my face once again.

"Because you won't remember it when you wake up."

 _They took Aiko away from me. Last week. I've run away more times than I can count since then. But I can't find him. I miss him. I can't deal with this. Where is my brother?_

 _I am crying, in my room. Alone. Actually not alone. I share the room with a few other boys my age. But they don't talk much. A weird boy with blond hair who talks kind of funny and cries a lot._

 _He scares me a little. Because he keeps telling us this place is some kind of prison and that they want to kill us. They took away his sister. And now he keeps saying that he saw all the little kids being cut up and thrown into a machine. It's not funny. I don't like him._

 _Then there's another boy with darker skin who never cries. He says he had two sisters, one older and one younger. But the younger one got taken away and the older one got sick and had to move away. He's okay I guess, we don't talk much. He's bossy._

 _And right now I'm crying on my bed, but quietly so I don't wake them up. I'm going to run away again tomorrow._

* * *

 **Aw! I had way too much fun writing this chapter! Tell me what you think!**

 **Fun Fact#18: The one thing Kaya Scodelario would bring in the maze is her bulldog to both protect her, and give her cuddles. (Wow, haven't had her in the fun facts in a while. What would you bring?)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	19. What's Needed is Good

**Wow, I am so, so sorry! This is incredibly late and I'm really sorry! I was really busy and I was working on a project. (Top secret) ;)**

 **I also had a few request from people that I wasn't sure how to incorporate, but I'm really happy with how this came out, so let me know how I did!**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: Thanks! Good choice with the bow. Very Katniss XD . I'd bring some kind of griever taming machine and ride my griever army out through the griever hole!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Yeah, this chapter starts off pretty happy, and gets sad later. I love them too! Thanks or reviewing!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: I love Minho, and I loved writing a whole chapter from his pov. Yeah, he was adorable! I hope Minho gets a real little brother in Fever Code! I like our idea, and I used it, so tell me how I did! I alwys love suggestions on how to make my story better! Oh and very true. I myself would love to have a conversation with Ki Hong one day! Nice paradox. I'm sure the creators would be very confused!**

 **NorangeKat722: Ooh! You watched it! Now I can't get any more fun facts from that video! XD Nice. I've been waiting for someone to recognize something in any of my facts, and you are the first. I'm going to have to be sneakier! ;)**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks so much for the compliment! That means a lot! I tried to add in some whump, so tell me what you think! Nice choice. I would bring a griever taming device!**

* * *

 **Newt**

Tommy and I stared as Minho was injected with the cure. After a long night of screaming and Tyler trying to encourage his memories, we were finally let inside his "hospital room" to witness him being cured.

Slowly, he blinked awake as Tyler left the room.

"Where's Aiko?" He whimpered with a sleep-filled voice. "Where's my brother?"

"Shh, Minho. He's gone, remember?" Tommy reminded him gently.

Minho's head lolled towards me.

"You're that weird kid, with the sister," He slurred, only half conscious.

I stiffened.

"Minho, get a grip," I said roughly.

"Why did they leave us?" He rasped. "Don't tell Aiko, they're not coming back."

Tommy glanced at me with mild concern.

"Minho wake up you bloody shank," I sighed.

"You talk funny," He smiled stupidly.

"I do not talk funny!" I yelled. "Now wake up so we can buggin' leave!"

Tommy snorted. Then he groaned, rubbing his head.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. But I might be needing that cure soon too," He smiled weakly. I'd forgotten about Tommy actually.

"Oh. Right. You want to ask Tyler when he comes back in?"

"I guess..." He trailed off.

"What're you thinking?" I asked, seeing something on his mind.

"For some reason, we need to get at least some of our memories before they can cure us. I'm not sure if I want them. Especially after I murdered your sister," He sighed.

I bit my lip.

"None of us wanted our memories. Yet we got them. And now it's your turn."

"I know. I'm being selfish. I'm just scared."

"Good. Fear makes you stronger, whether it's your or someone else's," Tyler came into the room. I glared.

"Aiko's fear made Minho stronger," He added.

"How would you know," Tommy spat.

"We take our roles very seriously. I didn't just watch Minho's memories, I watched Aiko's." His tone darkened with sadness. And I saw a haunted something that looked like pain in his eyes. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"Aiko?" Minho muttered drunkenly.

Tyler laughed. "He'll be like that for an hour or so. Had to give him extra laughing gas. He's a fighter though. Kept waking up."

"You know Tyler, much as I would love to banter with you for the next hour, I'd much rather find a bat to hit you with," I sneered. He smiled at me.

"Someone's upset because I'm dating his sister. Oh wait. She's not your sister, is she," He mocked. Tommy stood up and growled.

"She told me you tried to kiss her. How creepy can you get, right?" He laughed. I was torn. On one hand, I wanted to watch Tommy attack him. On the other hand, I knew that might be wrong.

Oh well.

I did nothing as Tommy pounced on Tyler. His crank brain getting the best of him forced him to throw punches after punches. Tyler's nose shattered.

Ok, now I should stop it.

I stood up just as Tyler grabbed Tommy and flung him away. He scrambled to his feet and backed against the wall. I slowly grabbed Tommy and sat him on the chair.

"Calm down. It's fine. Calm down," I repeated. His eyes flickered with madness, then he breathed.

"Sorry."

"It's fine," I said again, "I quite enjoyed that."

Tyler growled.

"Uh oh, looks like someone's too close to the Gone," He stumbled closer. "Guess we'll have to take some chances."

With a swish of his arm he stabbed Tommy with a needle containing the what looked like the cure.

Tommy's eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor. His arms and legs trembled, twitching and flinging around erratically. His eyelids fluttered uncontrollably and a moan escaped his lips as his back arched hideously.

"Tommy!" I screamed.

Then I turned to Tyler who stared in fake shock.

"What is wrong with you!" I yelled. "What did you do!?"

"Um. Well the other subjects we used who didn't have at least three percent memory either died or retained some permanent damage."

"What?"

"Don't worry. We'll just insert specific memory bits through his mind. Of course," He sneered. "That could damage him beyond repair. But you know, he'd live..."

I shook with rage, but I knew Tyler was the only one present who knew how to help Tommy. Then again, he didn't seem in any hurry to do so. I punched him in the nose and watched even more blood spill out.

He fell to the floor. Standing over him, I glared with all of my being.

"Fix him. Fix him right now."

* * *

 **Thomas**

The pain was unimaginable. Fire all around me. Heat! So much unbearable heat! Scorching my very soul. Suffocating me, killing me from the inside.

 _Help! Help me!_

I wanted to scream it. But my body didn't respond to me. I was trapped in a fiery, immobile husk. Trapped in a burning forest! No, a house! A house burning! Flames licking at it's frame.

My house!

 _I can't find mommy or daddy! Only hear the laughter of the scary man, getting closer. His face is full of sores and scabs and blood and he's trying to get me. My skin. He'll take it. He said he will!_

 _Peel it off so he can cover his hideous bruised face! I'm scared. I can't breathe. I'm running in a red and gray hallway full of burning family photos. The man is coming. He started this fire. And now he's going to get me..._

Everything hurt. I couldn't name the pain that governed my body like some beast. It was so sudden. I didn't know what had happened. I had just fallen, and succumbed to the redness of embers. Visions danced in my eyes. I heard something. Or thought I did? Someone singing? No, laughing.

 _He's standing in the door. Blocking me. Keeping me from the outside. He's smiles and sticks his hand in the flames, grinning as the flesh mottles and burns. I can see the bone of his fingers. And I am terrified._

 _I wish mommy and daddy were here. They would help. Fight. I am alone. My chest feels as if I have been underwater too long. I smell my own skin bubbling and burning. I'm going to die._

I was dying. I was sure of it. Whatever this was, it would kill me. Darkness swam in my eyes along with the visions. Pictures that moved too fast. Hurt to look at, but I couldn't turn away. Pressure gathered in my temples. Just behind my eyes. I was going to explode. I screamed in my head.

 _Screams! From him! As he walks into the fire and screams. He is laughing also, and crying, but the screams are loudest. And I know that he will die. Not me._

Help! Help! Please anybody!

 _A woman with cold eyes takes me in._

 _"You'll be a scientist," she smiles with no feeling. But I have no one else. So I will make this lady my new mommy._

What am I? Where am I? Newt? Minho! Anybody!

 _New kids. Every few days. New specimens to train for the trials. Most of them have little siblings. No good. Little ones get in the way. Their minds are not developed enough to track. Little ones are weak._

 _Little ones die._

Wait. The pain was lifting slightly. But not enough. Not enough for my torment to end. Not yet. But soon. I just needed to hang in a little longer-

 _Blood. Redder than the fire that almost killed me, is the red that comes from children. I swing my heavy knife. This is necessary. This is efficient. Nothing goes to waste. Their parts will aid the progression of the trials, and with it, the progression towards a cure._

 _Variables. All of them. Monsters. Metal and flesh. Nothing is wasted. This is needed. This is good._

I can feel it slowly leaving. Oozing out of my mind. I cry tears that I cannot see. I don't know where I am. I don't know where I am!

 _One phrase is repeated by my superiors. One phrase. And I say it as I wipe the blood off my hands and try not to look at the gore that is clogging the drains in the floor._

 _WICKED is good._

* * *

 **So I realized I have had barely any Tommy povs, so here it is! And after this I'll be mostly done with the repeated torture sessions for a while. Because you know, our boys deserve it! And I've got more planned!**

 **Fun Fact#19: Dylan O' Brien used to have a YouTube channel, and he asked a girl to prom in one of his videos! (Aw! Channel name: Dis Be My Channel)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	20. Speaking of Torture

**Hello friends! Here's the next chapter, which I am really happy with, so I hope you all enjoy it! Things are looking up for our boys! Well, for now.**

 **Reviews:**

 **NorangeKat722: Haha! Me too, me too! I guess this'll be my challenge then!**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Lol, I know right! I love that song because of Dylan. Thanks and you're welcome! And yeah, I had lot's of fun writing Minho like that. I think it's quite refreshing. Ha, yup, poor creators.**

 **Catnip851: Thanks!**

 **fadingshadowss: Poor Tommy indeed! Thanks for suggesting Thomaswhump, it was good fun to write. There may or may not be more torture, I can't really say... ;) Thanks and I'm glad you like the story!**

* * *

I missed the Glade. I missed the people that weren't all liars and double-crossers. I missed the freedom that came in confinement. The familiarity. The knowledge that the next day would be just like the first.

But there was none of that here. There was no life, no authenticity, no freedom, and definitely no familiarity.

There was only pain here. Only hate here. And only one thing to do: escape.

"Aiko said something to me, I think, when I was getting cured," Minho was below me, in his bed. We had been locked in our room. Tommy was there too, unconscious in his bed at the far side of the space. He had been wheeled in earlier. There was nothing more they could do for him. Except wait.

"His name is Tyler," I muttered.

"Oh yeah. Right. I keep forgetting. Tyler said something while I was remembering."

"What'd he say?" I droned without interest.

"Something about the Flare...I can't really remember...I think..." Minho growled in frustration, "I can't remember!"

"What _do_ you remember?" I asked. His silence angered me.

"Well?" I demanded, "You both know all about my bloody memories! So I should get to know yours!"

"Our parents took us to WICKED. They said it would keep us safe. That these monsters would protect us!" Minho yelled suddenly, "There were tests, lots. And a boy...I guess it must have been Thomas...who ran them. Then they took Aiko away from me."

"Just like they took Rose," I sighed.

Minho slammed his fist against his bedpost.

"This is stupid. We're their lab rats. They'll never let us go! We'll stay here forever doing stupid shucking tests until we die! Then they'll go find some other shanks to replace us!" He ranted.

"You think I don't bloody know that!" I screamed. "'Cause I do. Which is why I've been trying to haul out of here for days! But with you slint-heads getting sick every second, I haven't even had time to think of a plan!"

"Well did you ever think maybe we're capable of planning too?" Minho answered angrily. "Oh wait. Of course not. Because you feel so responsible. Like there's some noble force making you the one to save us singlehandedly, so you can make up for the embarrassment that we had to come rescue you!"

"That's not at all what I meant and you know that!" I shouted.

"No? Then what is it? Are you mad at us or something? Are you mad we spoiled you're chance to escape?"

"What are you talking abou—"

"You wanted to die! Admit it! You even told us so! You wanted to die there in that cell all alone without us!"

"Yeah well maybe if you had come sooner, I would have still had some hope!"

"Don't say that!" Minho blew up, "There wasn't one second, even in that shucking city, that we weren't worried about you! We came as soon as we could!"

"Yeah and it still wasn't soon enough! You don't know what I went through! You think you know now, now that you've had the flare and gotten cured? Because whatever you _think_ it was like, it was a _thousand_ times worse!" I yelled. I was sitting up now, gritting my teeth and feeling the pent up stress rolling off me in waves.

"Well you haven't made much effort to even talk to us, have you!"

"Because some things can't be fixed by words or people or anything!"

"Things like what?!"

"Like torture!" I screamed, "Like constantly being injected by serums. Like feeling your blood burn and your insides wither up. Like not knowing where you are, what you are, if you're even still breathing! Like waiting for people who you know might never come in time!"

I was crying now, reliving that awful eternity. Minho was silent, and I took that as a sign to continue.

"I tore out my own hair. I screamed and bled and cried in the darkness as I felt the Flare slowly paralyzing all the parts of me that make me who I am! That make me human! So yeah, I was waiting to die. I wanted to close my eyes and never open them. But you know what? I couldn't. And not because of WICKED. But because of you and Tommy. I was waiting. And even though most of me wanted to die, some part of me felt like I needed to hold out just a little bit longer. That the second you came, all my pain would stop!

"But then I saw you both. Not even knowing you were about to be ambushed. And I realized that the pain was still going strong. That nothing had changed just because you had waltzed in the bloody door! That I was already dead and you were just making it harder! Just making it harder for me to let go! Just hurting me worse!"

My voice broke. I sobbed on my bed. The silence shamed me and made my eyes burn harder.

"We're sorry for making you wait," A voice shocked me to my senses. Tommy was awake and sitting up. I froze.

"Tommy?" I croaked.

"I...I'm fine. Really I am..."

But I saw the tears in his eyes. Minho and I jumped out of our beds and came to sit on either side of him. We all put our arms around each other's backs.

"Thanks but I don't think I'm the one who needs comforting," He smiled weakly.

"Shut up and let us hug you," I smiled back. Minho laughed.

"You need to stop being so protective, how's little Tommy gonna ever grow up?" He grinned at us. I got the joke and place a hand on Tommy's forehead.

"I don't know, feels hot to me. Should we call the doctor?" I asked in mock worry. Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Nah, sickness builds character. Now where's my dinner woman?" He bellowed. Tommy's lip twitched up.

"On the table idiot," I cracked. Minho turned his head to Tommy and huffed.

"No respect eh son?"

Tommy laughed. "There is something definitely wrong with both of you."

I gasped.

"Don't use that tone with me young man!" I stood up, hands on my hips. Minho was right behind me.

"Go to your room!" He deepened his voice. Tommy shook his head and sighed in amusement. Then he got down on the floor and stood on his knees.

"You'll have to catch me first!" He yelled and started crawling as fast as he could. I laughed, feeling light, and chased after Tommy along with Minho.

* * *

 **Aw! This is one of my favorite chapters now! Oh! And I was meaning to ask: I'm working on a story that will basically be a collection of multi-genre one shots that are suggested mainly by you guys! What do you think? Any suggestions for a title?**

 **Fun Fact#20: Even though he tries not to seem like a bad boy, TBS likes turning up to places with a leather jacket and a motor bike. (Hawt! Hawt! Hawt! *Dies of feels*)**


	21. The Difference Between Them

**Hello my lovelies! Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter than usual, but come on, it's Christmas! I was busy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **NorangeKat722: Thank you, I had to do a bit a research for it. And yep, Glade mother for life! XD**

 **catnip851: Thanks! Glad you liked it!**

 **fadingshadowss: Same! I'm glad you liked it! Their friendship is one of my favorite relationships in any book series! I re-watched it a few weeks ago. Poor Minho! And sorry, but by the time I saw your review, I'd already named it! Speaking of which, a new chapter is out called "Drinking by the Fire." It's exactly what it sounds like. XD**

* * *

 _Everywhere. Everywhere there is darkness. Swimming inside me. I feel it just under my skin, see it rising every now and then, rippling my flesh. It wants to hurt me. Take me away from everything and everyone._

 _Eat me up until I am nothing. Until I am dead and gone and painted in rotting evil just like it. I hear it speaking. No, singing. A sweet and beautiful song that brings tears to my eyes. But there is something very wrong with it. Something just underneath the surface tone. Something wicked._

 _Smiling in the sun_

 _Lying in the shade_

 _Waiting for hour_

 _When you'll come to play_

 _Sitting on the stairs_

 _Staring at the rain_

 _Waiting for the hour_

 _When you'll come to play_

 _Old as time and earth_

 _With few last numbered days_

 _Still waiting for the hour_

 _When you'll come to play_

I woke up with the song still ringing in my ears. Actually no, not ringing. It was still there. I blinked a few times, and looked around. I couldn't see Minho, since he was below me, but Tommy was sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and jumped down. It wasn't Minho. Obviously. But then what was it? The door was open, which was strange. And there seemed to be a piece of paper on the floor. I peered down at the note.

 **Meet me in my room.**

 **-E**

For a second, I was confused. Then I remembered. Evelyn. It felt odd to say her real name. Still, I was curious, and I slipped out into the hallway. As I approached her room, the song got louder, always repeating. Finally I poked my head inside, and she was at her dresser, singing softly with tears streaming down her face.

I watched her for a bit until she noticed me.

"Oh! Newt! I didn't think you were coming. You didn't wake up earlier so..."

I nodded, concerned.

"Why are you crying?"

"Nothing. Just a new part I'm playing. Her name was Jessie. And the song was something her mom used to sing. I need to memorize it."

I sighed, wondering if she ever got to just be Evelyn. Not Jessie, not Rose, just herself.

"That doesn't explain your tears," I said softly, sitting down on her bed. She grimaced, and I saw the sadness in her eyes.

"Jessie's dad, he went off to war when Jessie was six. They waited for years, but he never came back. I think...he must have died," She swallowed hard. I blinked, taken back. Then something flickered inside me.

"I've never seen you cry at any of your other roles," I said quietly. Accusingly. She blushed, wiping away her last few tears.

"Just because you've never seen me do it doesn't mean I don't. Some of these stories...they make me feel wrong inside. Like they're sacred. Like I shouldn't be..."

"Like you shouldn't be doing this."

"That's not why I called you over," She moved on too quickly. I wanted to prod, but decided against it.

"Then why?" I dropped the matter and I could see relief written on her face.

"I just, I heard what Ty did to Thomas. I wanted to say sorry," She smiled awkwardly. My heart throbbed.

"You're not the one who should be saying that," I told her. She nodded.

"I know. But still. He can be a jerk sometimes," She said. I ignored the urge to hold her, and instead twiddled my thumbs in silence.

"Is that it?"

"Um...yeah I guess. I just...yeah. That's it. You may go," She said briskly. I chuckled dryly.

"You remind me of Ava when you talk like that," I muttered. She stiffened, and her eyes narrowed fiercely. My head swiveled up in shock as fury made itself clear on her face.

"Do not _ever_ compare me to that woman," She said in a low voice. I froze. Then she began pushing me out the door.

"Hey, hey! Evelyn I'm sorry! I didn't mean—"

"She murders. I heal. She might not know it, but there's a difference," She growled. And then there was a door in my face. I sighed, my brain reeling. My eyelids drooped, and dizziness touched the edge of my vision for a second. I shook it off and began slowly walking back to the dorm. I was sick of it all. Done with tears and illness and cures. Tomorrow we would leave.

I just needed to wait a little longer. Tomorrow we would escape.

* * *

 **Happy Holidays! And please check out my new story Red Carpet. New chapter just went up called Drinking by the Fire. Much bromance, very feels!**

 **Fun Fact#21: Guess what TBS' little sister's name is! Yep, it's Ava!**

 **Wolf Out...**


	22. Puppets

**Happy New Year! I've been anting to write this for a long time.**

 **Reviews:**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: (Chapter 20) I know right! I love his taste! Thanks! I had loads of fun writing it! I don't really ship anything further than bromances, but every now and then I like to hint! ;) Glad you liked it! (Chapter 21) You know what, I didn't actually think of that when I wrote the fun fact! I only thought "Oh, his sister's name is the name of the antagonist. Cool." I didn't even put it together that they're Thomas and Ava! XD I think your idea should be a headcannon somewhere. That'd be hilarious if it happened that way. Oh! And thank you so much for saying that about Evelyn! It actually helped me so much! I didn't want Newt to forgive her too suddenly, or for anything to seem forced. But I also don't want her to turn into Teresa, so thank you! Your review inspired a lot of moments in this chapter!**

 **fadingshadowss: Thanks! And I'm glad you feel like that! I've been trying to flesh her out more!**

 **catnip851: Thanks! Glad you like it!**

* * *

When I woke up, Minho and Tommy were still asleep. I couldn't remember falling asleep, or even entering the room again. But one thing stuck to my sleepy mind.

Evelyn.

And what she had said. Anger sparked inside me. She had a lot of nerve, acting so bloody righteous. Like what she was doing was so justified. She was just like Ava, no matter what she said.

And yet, she'd been crying. I shook my head to clear it, promising myself that I would try to avoid her.

"Morning!" A slow voice greeted. I looked down to see Tommy sitting up and stretching. And by the sounds below me, Minho was doing the same.

"Morning shanks," I plastered on a smile. "What do you say we blow this place?"

Tommy cocked his head.

"What?"

My smiled widened.

"Yep. We just need to pl—" My voice choked up and wooziness spread up and down my body. My eyelids drooped on their own.

"Newt?" Tommy asked.

 _Sssssssszzzzzzz_

We looked to see something floating out from the vents up on the walls. An almost transparent gas. And now I wasn't the only one swaying.

"Have I mentioned how much I love it here?" Minho's sarcasm barely reached my ears. Through darkening eyes I saw Tommy chuckle slightly before doubling over. Minho lurched onto the floor, trying in vain to cover his mouth and nose. Now Tommy joined him on the floor, writhing with eyes rolling up into his head. Then every color, sound, and motion blurred and ran together. I felt myself falling over the edge of the bunk.

Then landing on my friends. And finally, darkness.

* * *

"We are gathered here today, to unveil something truly remarkable. Though doubted, and sometimes even despised, through every step of our research, we have persevered. We have not failed you..."

A voice pushed through my subconscious. A voice that I knew and recognized. Groaning sluggishly, I forced my eyes to open and blearily look around.

My heart caught. There was nothing but air supporting us. Falling! The sky!

I blinked again. No. Not falling. Suspended. And not air either, but glass. A dry chuckle brought my attention back to the present.

"It's about time. And I thought I was going to have to enjoy this scenery all by myself," Minho was awake, sitting in a corner of the glass cage.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Klunk if I know," He shrugged.

"I am getting very tired of waking up in sudden strange places," Tommy slurred, pushing himself off the flooring. He looked down and I saw panic flash across his face, before he realized what this was.

"Well, at least WICKED's getting creative," He muttered, poking at the floor.

"Oh yeah, right, because arts and crafts is definitely the thing to be thinking about here," Minho rolled his eyes. "Look down there."

We looked. White metal structures filled out the ground beneath us. About fifty feet, beneath us. Swallowing some vertigo, I looked harder. I could make out a balcony, and two people standing on it.

Ava and Evelyn. My two favorite women. I sighed. If I strained, I could hear Ava making some kind of speech. A crowd of filth encrusted people had gathered just below her balcony.

"...We, World In Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department, have finally found the Flare Cure!" She said. The crowd exploded in cheers and whistles.

"What is she doing?" Tommy asked.

"Giving it away? I guess?" Minho said. Tommy shook his head.

"No, she wouldn't go through all this trouble of making the cure just to give it away," He said darkly. I was about to ask what he was talking about when Ava spoke again.

"And one injection only costs 1,000 dollars. Per person," Even from this height I cold see Ava's smile. The crowd was silent for a split second. Then the boos and groans ad screams started.

Ava held up a hand.

"Fine. Then you'll all slowly go crazy and die!" She yelled.

"She can't be serious," Minho muttered.

"Why is she..." I couldn't finish. This was sicker than anything yet. These people had lost everything. I would have been surprised if they even had fifty pounds.

"This is crazy. No one's going to buy that!" Tommy snarled.

"How do we know you have the cure for real!" A man's voice screamed from the crowd. Ava smirked, and Evelyn looked up at us. With a clang, our cage began to quickly descend on wires. We held on tightly as our speed slightly increased.

And then we were on the balcony.

"These kids were our volunteer testers," Ava said. "All of them had the flare, and were near past the "Gone", as you call it, but are now healthy and functioning normally."

From another wire, a video screen sped down and turned on, revealing images of...me?

It was me attacking Evelyn, frothing and foaming and screaming my bloody head off. Then of me and Fry, laughing and crying and yelling at nearly the same time. And finally of me, rocking back and forth in my sleep, twitching and sweating and convulsing with some dream that I had no memory of.

I was biting the air. I was scratching red lines into my sides. All in my sleep. But the crowd looked on with nothing more than mild interest. Minho and Tommy looked at me in sympathetic horror.

Then the video sequence changed to Minho. He was snarling at a closed door while Tommy and I restrained him. I remembered that. Then him trying to get inside Ava's office. I averted my eyes.

Minho was staring down in shame.

The crowd still had barely reacted. Even after the scenes changed to Tommy attacking Tyler. The video ended. We all waited. The crowd seemed to all roll their eyes.

"Actors!" Someone called out. Anger boiled inside me. I could see it bothered Tommy and Minho too. Evelyn looked towards us and clicked a button on a small remote. The door opened. I leapt out and leaned far out into the balcony.

"We are not actors!" I yelled. I opened my mouth to rant until I saw Ava's nod of approval. We were going to advertise her product. Well, not if I could help it.

She must have seen the hesitation in my resolve because she also clicked a button on Evelyn's remote. I ignored it.

"We had the bloody flare for real! We know the torture of wanting to taste blood! Wanting to kill and hate and die! And if you lot can't blinking recognize that, then maybe you're the shucking actors!" I screamed. But as soon as the words were out, I panicked.

I hadn't meant to say that. I hadn't even been thinking it. The words just popped into my brain and I lost control of my own jaw.

"I almost killed my friends! I almost killed her!" I waved at Evelyn, but it was all wrong. It wasn't me. Fear seized me as I realized I was being controlled.

Ava.

No.

"He's right," Minho backed me. But with one look I could tell that he was panicking too. "But Chancellor Paige gave us back our lives, and there is nothing I wouldn't pay for that!"

Tommy was looking at us in confusion. I would've laughed if I could. Then he started speaking.

"And especially since...we're...us two..." He gestured to himself and Minho, "We were supposed to be immune. We'd been tested and everything. The fare is evolving and you are all lucky that Chancellor Paige is offering this opportunity!"

Tears slid down his face and his hands trembled. All fake. We were just endorsement puppets. The crowd gasped slightly.

"That's ridiculous!" A woman finally said, "Munies don't get the flare!"

Ava shrugged.

"They do now."

And that's when a shriek resonated up from the mass. Everyone looked to see one of the cleaner men biting the arm of the toddler he was holding.

"Ryan no!" His wife screamed, snatching away the child. He snarled and pounced on her, tearing into her throat with his teeth. We watched in silence as the man finished his wife and then stood back up, swinging his head wildly.

He was wearing a vest from the crank palace. He was a guard. Which meant he was also immune. The crowd noticed this and started screaming.

Suddenly I understood. The concentrated flare that they gave Minho...and probably whatever injectable version they gave Tommy, had been distributed out. And the only relief, was to pay.

We all stared at Evelyn and Ava, standing proud and tall. Evelyn turned to me and mouthed, _I'm sorry._

I shook my head at her, still unable to speak. What she had done was unforgivable. What she had just helped create was so much bigger than an "I'm sorry."

I scowled. She sniffed and stuck her nose up in the air, crossing her arms. A few people had begun offering life savings, and Ava was busy negotiating. I was free, but the damage had been done.

We walked over to Evelyn.

"You are disgusting," I told her.

"Remember what I said Newt. I heal. And look at how many people I have a chance to heal now!" She motioned around at the chaos.

"You are all kinds of crazy!" Tommy argued angrily. "What about helping people! Saving the human race! Why can't you just give it away!"

"This is helping. And when we get humanity up and running again, we'll need money in order to run things properly, " Her eyes flashed, "My mother may be the devil, but she is very still very good at business. And sad as it is, she'll be the best government this sorry little species could ask for."

* * *

 **Here you go! An extra long chapter to compensate for last chapter! I was going to write more actually, but I forced myself to end it there.**

 **Fun Fact#22: Dylan used to be the drummer in a band called Slow Kids At Play, but his band fired him by sending him a snapchat of them 'jamming with another drummer.' (Who needs enemies when you've got friends like these! )**

 **Wolf Out...**


	23. Traitor

**Hallooo lovely people! I don't have much to say, so enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **catnip851: I know right! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **angelcarstairs4679: Glad I'm getting a reaction, and speaking of plot twists...well, you'll find out! ;)**

 **fadingshadowss: Ha! I know how those late reviews feel! Glad you liked it!**

* * *

Evelyn sneered at us. I blinked back my shock.

"You can't possibly..." Tommy trailed off.

"You are just like your bloody mother. You're both murderers," I snarled. Evelyn's expression contorted into rage.

"And to think I felt sorry for you. Monster," She whispered menacingly. Then she had snatched the remote from Ava's hands and held it like a game controller. Her eyes narrowed.

"I think you've all had enough sun for today," She spat. Then my legs were moving, carrying me away. Again, I was trapped in my own body. Minho and Tommy followed with anger clearly written on their faces.

"This is ridiculous! We have families! Kids!" I heard a man's voice scream at Ava, but I couldn't turn my head around to see.

"And I'm sure if you loved them, you'd pay any price to save them," Ava's cold tone sent chills down my spine.

"You bi-"

The man proceeded to call Ava names I can't repeat, and soon the whole crowd was once again rallied against her. But still we walked, towards the elevator. My heart plummeted. WICKED could do anything. We wouldn't ever escape. And any of our friends who'd been there with us were probably dead. Even Jorge and Brenda. WICKED would've killed them by now.

"Sir, stand down," Ava's voice held alarm in it and suddenly we'd stopped walking. Straining, I was able to turn my head to see that Evelyn had paused to watch the crowd.

"Uh oh," Minho muttered.

The man was climbing on top of the other mob members. He leapt up and grabbed the balcony railing.

"We need to leave, now," I said. But none of us moved. The man swung his body over the rail and stepped forward. Ava acknowledged him calmly.

"What is she-" Tommy was cut off by the sound of gunpowder exploding. Several gooey red holes appeared in the man's chest and he fell in a crumpled heap.

Everyone looked up to see shooters up in the higher parts of the building. The crowd was in panic now, and Ava casually kicked the man's oozing body off the balcony. He fell into the throng of people.

I felt sick. Tommy was doubled over and Minho stood smoldering in shocked anger. Blood stained Ava's white heels and she stared at them in disgust.

The crowd was now converging. People threw each other up onto the railing. More people fell. But the crowd was massive and soon three men had made it onto the balcony. My heart raced. The sound of bullets filled the air.

More people were fighting their way onto the platform. But none of them made it within three feet of Ava herself. The shooters had quit protecting the whole balcony and were now focused on their master.

"Come on!" Tommy screamed. He grabbed Minho and I and we backed up into the elevator, closing the door for protection. The crazed people had realized where the bullets were centered and switched targets as well.

A high-pitched cry ripped through the leaden air. A man had grabbed Evelyn by the neck and was lifting her up. His companion was punching her. Ava swung around and noticed. Her eyes widened.

"Evelyn!" She screamed. I watched in shock as Ava barreled into the man strangling Evelyn. She grabbed him and held him out until the shooters took the hint and gunned him down.

Evelyn was crying.

"Mother?" She asked in confusion.

"Move!" Ava shrieked. Some kid about my age had somehow gotten a gun. He shot twice. Ava shoved Evelyn away. One bullet graced her leg and she fell, screaming. The other bullet ripped into Ava's throat. Blood spurted from her lips and she collapsed.

Everything went silent.

"You idiot!" A woman yelled. "Now how do we get the cure!"

The crowd began to argue, forgetting Evelyn. She was dragging herself along the balcony to her mother. I saw it all in morbid clarity. There would be no last words. Nothing so dignified as that. Just the corpse of a twisted woman.

Evelyn touched her wound and recoiled. Her eyes were wide with guilt. Her leg was bleeding badly but she didn't seem to care. My eyes drifted to the kid who'd shot. I froze. I felt my friends tense up beside me.

"Is that..." Tommy trailed off.

"Tyler," Minho growled.

His hair was colored differently, bright blond, so I hadn't recognized him immediately.

"Bloody traitor," I snarled, "What's he trying to do!"

"Everyone stop!" Evelyn yelled suddenly. She hadn't even noticed Tyler.

"The price is down! Fifty dollars per family!" She screamed. The crowd turned to her just in time for Tyler to pull the trigger.

"NO!" I shrieked.

 _Boom!_

* * *

 **I know, I know, but I love cliffhangers! Also, it felt so good to finally kill off a character! Even if it was Ava. In all of my major stories, someone always dies! And this is no exception!**

 **Fun Fact#23: The Death Cure movie will be set a _whole year_ after the Scorch Trials, and focus a lot on Harriet and the female characters. Wes has admitted that it will be very different to the book. (I don't know if I like this, but hopefully it creates a higher chance that Newt won't die!)**

 **Wolf Out...**


	24. Bittersweet

**Call the press! Call the president! Call the queen! Bittersweet has ended! That's right my lovely reviewers, this is the very final chapter. But you know what, I think it was time. And for once, I don't feel all that upset about ending a story. Enjoy!**

 **Reviews:**

 **AsgardianGrizzly: Haha! I liked Tyler more because of that too. But I wonder how much you'll like him after this chapter, it could go either way! Very true, poor Dyls! And oh my goodness, I really hope they don't do that! If Newt still has to crank out, I would like to at least see it happen. TBS doesn't really seem like the type to play insane, or deranged characters, so that'll be quite cool to see.** **And yes, I did see that bit! I literally had a mini seizure in my seat!**

 **catnip851: True, although I hope they still keep it slightly parallel to the books. Except for the death scene. That would be fine it he didn't die, although I still kind of want him to have the flare and just not die from it. I hope they show his pov! Enjoy this ending!**

 **fadingshadowss: Yep, she's gone. Glad you like the story. Oh! And I am still taking requests. I actually updated Red Carpet a while ago with your chapter request, if you want to go check that out. Thanks for the idea by he way, I enjoyed it.**

 **AddilynStriker: Aw thanks! Your review made my day! Glad you like it! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

It was almost relief. Satisfaction, even. When I saw Evelyn's body collapse next to her mother's. Red painted her chest in an expanding circle. Guilt for my temporary glee smashed into me, stealing my breath.

"The cure is free!" Tyler shouted. He pulled a few vials from his pocket and threw them out into the crowd. People eagerly caught them, cheering loudly.

Tyler grinned triumphantly even as soldiers began to invade the balcony. They leveled their guns and he spread his arms wide.

"Not so fast boys. I've spread the virus within each and every one of your ranks. Them too," Tyler gestured toward the dead girls on the ground. He flashed a few syringes.

"I'm in charge now," He continued, "So drop your weapons."

The shooters wavered, looking at each other uncertainly. They knew what the Flare could do. One by one, their guns fell to the floor. Tyler nodded contentedly and tossed them each a syringe.

"Good. Now go fetch some more of that for our new customers," He smiled. They left slowly, awkwardly shuffling out.

Tyler turned to us, walking over with his hands tightly clasped behind his back. I felt sick as he casually stepped over the corpse of his girlfriend. Had he ever loved her in the first place?

"Hello friends," He snickered, taking extra care to grin at Tommy. We glared.

"What was that?" Minho spat.

"What was what? Getting rid of my boss and her stupid daughter? I call that winning."

There as something off about him. And I noticed that he swayed slightly, as if listening to some music.

"You're sick," I told him. "Bloody traitor. She really loved you!"

He glanced over at Evelyn, seeming to notice her for the first time. Clarity entered his eyes and he fumbled around in his pockets.

"No. No. I didn't...Just a hallucination. Need a little bit...more..." He drew out a cure-filled syringe and jammed it into his arm. His eyes rolled up with something like pleasure and his whole body shuddered.

We watched in horror.

"Good. Now what was I saying?" He looked us over with a smile.

"What are you doing..." Tommy muttered.

"Becoming this world's new leader. And they will accept me willingly because I will be remembered for this kind day," He staggered closer, reeking of medicine, "Speaking of which, you're free to go."

I blinked.

"What?"

"I don't need nor want you. Oh, and here," He slapped one of his many vials into my hand.

"I'm already cured," I snarled.

"With the very first, very crude prototype. This should help with your dizziness," He grinned. I clutched the vial tightly, feeling exposed. My friends glanced between us. I slipped it into my pocket and Tyler shrugged.

He began walking off to address the crowd, not exactly in a straight line. Halfway there, he stabbed some more cure into his body.

Tommy, Minho and I gathered together.

"I don't like this," Minho said.

"Me neither, but we're free now," I said.

"Idiot's not going to get far like that," Tommy observed. We paused to watch him. He was handing out the cure by the dozens, though being noticeably fearful of anyone who so much as looked sick. The people were grabbing at him, clawing at him. A few were brandishing knives. Tommy was right. These people didn't need him. They'd kill him soon enough.

It felt odd. We'd been just cheated out of dangers. But at what price? We stepped fully out of the elevator and made our way off the balcony. I slipped on the way down, nausea rippling my vision. Minho caught me before my face smashed into the ground.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine," I said. Even though I knew that both my friends had taken it before, I didn't want to take the cure given to me by Tyler. Especially after watching him abuse it. Was he really that scared of getting the flare? Or was he beyond that now? Simply doing it for addiction's sake.

But still, I'd need it soon. My bloody dizzy spells were coming more and more frequently.

We walked with no particular direction. For hours. Without supplies in the heat.

We struggled through a forest that was just beginning to grow healthy again. All until night, when we collapsed. Tired. Hungry. Thirsty.

Afraid.

I couldn't see straight any longer, nor talk properly.

"You should take that cure," Tommy said. Minho nodded.

"Can't," I choked out. They glanced at each other worriedly and I was scared they'd force it into me.

Everything was blurring together in a blob of colors. It was mostly painless, which made me even more reluctant to take the bloody cure.

Finally I felt Minho going through my pockets. He grabbed the needle and shoved it into my arm.

"Sorry shank," He muttered.

I tried to object, but soon my eyelids were closing and pain began to leak into my system.

 _I am drowning in ivy. I need to get out. I need to get out!_

 _Gray everywhere. Heat. Pain. Where is the door? How do I get out?_

 _I am running through a corridor walled in by stone and metal. I climb up, to the very top of the wall. I need to get out._

 _I need to get free!_

 _My feet hit air. I'm jumping. I'm falling. Something catches me before I hit the ground. A huge, spindly monster with oozing flesh and clicking metal arms. But I'm not scared. I look into its face and see eyes that keep changing color, but beautiful all the same._

 _"Evelyn," I breathe. And kiss it deeply._

 _BOOM!_

 _A bullet wound. Red and shaped in a perfect circle: in my chest. Evelyn laughs, and falls away. I'm in the dark now, bleeding out alone._

 _I'll never get out._

"Newt?" I woke up to see Minho and Tommy hovering over me. It was noon. I tested out my limbs, sore and exhausted, but okay. The cure was just that, a cure. No tricks. I would hopefully be fine.

"Bugger off. You slintheads are the not the first thing I want to see when I wake up," I mumbled, sitting up carefully. My neck and shoulders were cramped up, likely from sleeping on the ground for so long.

"Yeah right," Minho laughed, striking a pose, "Now get up."

"We need to find someplace, a city maybe, where we can live. And I get the feeling it's not going to be five minute walk," Tommy smiled grimly. I nodded, really looking at our surroundings for the first time.

We were in a ruined world. But because of us, it would get better. Theoretically, at least. Because of us, and of course, because of Ava Paige and her daughter. I replayed their deaths in my head. Mother and daughter.

They had gotten what they deserved, hadn't they? I wasn't certain. I felt like it would be right to grieve them. To shed a tear. But I felt nothing. So many of our friends had died to get us this far.

And I had witnessed it all, a piece of my heart dying each time. And now we were free.

Finally free.

No more variables or tricks or trials.

We were free.

And it was terrifying.

"Sad isn't it?" Tommy said, looking around with me.

"Not sad, exactly," I spoke, trying to find the right word for it, "More like...bittersweet."

Minho snorted.

"Please," He chuckled, "That sounds like the title to some sappy book."

And we all laughed our fear away because, frankly, he was right. And it thrilled me to know that this was how it'd be from now on. Just us. Laughing together with no one holding us back.

* * *

 **AW! (Am I allowed to "aw" at my own writing?) I loved making this story for you guys and I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed! And thank you to TheWorldsMusic for including this in your community!**

 **Fun Fact#24: The Fever Code is scheduled to be released September 27, 2016! (Just...a...few...more...months!)**

 **Also, bonus fun fact: Each of these fun facts take me anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes of research to find! So yeah. You're welcome. ;)**

 **Wolf Out...**


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